Alternate Universe Falls
by MiniJen
Summary: A collection of oneshots based around alternate universe scenarios for my preexisting fic, Universe Falls. Featuring Reverse/Diamond, GR/Momswap, Swap AU, Relativity/Gem Kids, Anti-Gravity/Permafusion, Pink Twins, and more! So, take a step into the multiverse itself and prepare to forget everything you thought you knew about Universe Falls...
1. Pink Twins: Someone To Blame

_AN-Ok, everyone, its time for what I like to call "Jen adopts a new project that she clearly doesn't have enough time for!" But nah, for reals, I should probably explain what this is. First of all, for anyone who hasn't read my ongoing Gravity Falls/Steven Universe crossover Universe Falls already, word of warning this whole thing might be super confusing to you, so I recommend checking that out first then coming back here. But if you have read it, then oh boy do I have a treat for you! So if you follow me on tumblr, then you're probably already aware of the fact that several popular GF and SU AUs (alternate universes) are going to be incorporated into UF in its later chapters. And if you're not aware, well... that's a thing that's going to happen, and you can go to my blog (MiniJenn on tumblr) for more info about those, since I don't feel like explaining them all in depth here. So what's this thing here, you might be wondering? Well, its really just going to be a collection of oneshots I do on my own time for the other UF AUs, just to get myself in the practice of writing them and just for fun really. Pretty much everything is fair game here, from adaptations of UF chapters in other AUs, to completely original chapters, and pretty much everything in between. Some will be lighthearted and fun, others (like this first one) sad and soul crushingly dark. And honestly, its all gonna be whatever I want it to be (few of these are connected to each other btw). So hopefully that lengthy explanation of what this is made sense! So with that out of the way, let's get to this first one:_

 _AU: Pink Twins AU (I will give explanation to this one here, since its fairly new. Basically, in the Pink Twins AU, Dipper and Mabel die (fun, I know) in pretty much any given number of ways (there are like 6 ways in UF that this AU can kickstart and this one here is the first one) and Steven accidently brings them back to life with his tears, thereby turning them pink (like what he did for Lars in Wanted)_

 _So yeah brief note before we dive in here, this chapter basically diverges from Waterfall Gem (the UF equivalent of Ocean Gem). Just wanted to clarify that for everyone who hasn't read this one yet (I've already posted this oneshot on my tumblr, but I figured it would make sense to have a heavy as fuck burst of angst be the kickstarter for this. So with that all finished, let's finally get started!  
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 _Pink Twins 1_

 _Someone to Blame_

The instant Stan saw one of the water clones unleashing a mercilessly heavy torrent upon his nephew, his pressing back pain was all but forgotten as he pushed himself to stand and run as fast as his legs could carry him. The distance between him and Dipper seemed unbearably far, given the circumstances, but the conman pushed himself onward regardless, desperately hoping that he wouldn't be too late, knowing that he _couldn't_ be too late.

But in the end, he was.

As soon as Stan was within the radius of the water clone, his brass-knuckled fist flew into its liquid form. Finally Dipper was released from its hold and downpour, even if the clone's dissipating remains splashed down upon him. Still, Stan ignored the water as he quickly knelt down beside his listless nephew and scooped him up into his arms. He wasted no time in turning Dipper over, patting him firmly, but gently on the back in an attempt to coax the water out of his lungs. However, the conman's first sign that something was wrong came when only a few drops of water came out of his seemingly unconscious nephew's agape mouth instead of what he should have been coughing up on his own.

"Kid, wake up," Stan said, his brow furrowing as he turned Dipper back over and inspected his face. His complexion was far too pale, his eyes far too closed, his expression far too empty, and worst of all, his pulse far too undetectable. "Kid!" the conman exclaimed in newfound shock, his eyes widening upon not even hearing so much as a single heartbeat resonating from his nephew's chest. "Dipper! Come on, kid, you gotta snap out of it!" Stan was shouting by now, desperately shaking Dipper by the shoulders in an attempt to rouse him, but even still, he was completely unresponsive as his head simply lolled downwards. "No! You can't just quit on me, dammit! I already lost one family member, I'm not about to lose another one, especially not you! So wake up already, kid! Wake up! W-wake… wake up…" the conman's voice finally trailed off into a bitter sob, hot tears streaming down his cheeks as he looked down to his nephew's limp, unmoving, undeniably lifeless form. Dipper felt much too small and cold and damp to Stan as he cradled him closer than he likely ever had before, blaming so much for this terrible thing that was _never_ supposed to happen. But mostly, he just blamed himself.

Still, Stan didn't get much time to grieve as the telltale fearful shriek of his other nibbling sounded out, followed by a heavy crash. The conman's head darted upright, his distraught gaze snapping towards the source of Mabel's cry as he at first believed it to be over what just happened to Dipper. But instead, it was a scream all for herself, one that was abruptly silenced almost as soon as it hit the air. And as Stan glanced over at her, he was immediately able to see the horrifying reason why.

Another one of the water clones had just finished its job, rejoining Lapis' tower and revealing Mabel lying unmovingly where it had once stood. Upon a first look, she seemed to be simply unconscious, but given the grim fate her twin had just met, Stan wasn't going to be fooled by mere appearances. Refusing to relinquish his grip on Dipper, despite the fact that he was certainly beyond saving, the conman quickly rose to stand, rushing over to his fallen niece and instantly realizing that she was gravely hurt as well. Her limbs were twisted in a variety of awkward angles, her back bent in an unnatural way, and a thin stream of blood slowly pouring out of her mouth as soft, but fading pain filled her features. Stan froze upon seeing all this, his heart sinking even more as his tears continued to fall even harder as he slowly lowered himself beside what was left of his family. Or rather, what was no longer left at all.

"N-no…" the conman murmured, his tone wracked with pain as he gently pulled Mabel into his free arm, easily noticing her missing heartbeat and broken spine. "No… no, no, no! No! No! _No!_ " Stan's agonized cry tore through the area, catching the attention of the Gems, Greg, Soos, Steven, and Connie, all of whom had previously been engrossed in fending off the other water clones. In fact, the clones themselves all seemed to dissipate as if on cue, but hardly anyone noticed this as they instead turned towards Stan, who made no efforts to hide the grieving tears he was pouring out over his now-dead nibblings.

"Uh… Mr. Pines?" Soos was the first to speak up as they all gathered around the mourning conman with apt concern. "W-what… what's going on?"

Stan refused to answer this, his teeth gritting tightly as he bowed his head lower. Since his back was turned to the group, none of them were able to really get a good view of the twins, but they could still tell he was holding them tightly, something that filled the Gems with incoming dread first.

"S-Stan…" Pearl began, her tone unusually soft and fragile as she addressed the conman. "Dipper a-and Mabel… A-are they…?"

"T-they're ok, aren't they?" Connie interjected where the white Gem couldn't bear to finish.

Once again, Stan gave no verbal answer, almost as if he didn't know any of them were there. Still, it took him everything he had left in him to finally give them all some form of an answer in the form of a simple, terse, hopeless shake of his head.

Tears had already formed in Garnet's eyes prior to this revelation, but upon receiving a confirmation of it, her shades dissipated as she buried her face into her palm and let out a soft sob. Amethyst froze, her jaw dropped in stunned disbelief as Pearl let out a sharp, distressed gasp, her entire body trembling as her tears began to fall. Neither Greg nor Soos knew what to say about such awful news, both of them hanging their heads and joining in on the silent party of grievers. Connie launched into a round of practically unstoppable weeping, cradling herself with her arms as she forced herself to turn away. However, the only one who refused to accept the possibility that the twins were indeed gone was Steven

"N-no!" the young Gem protested, desperation filling him as he ran around the conman to see for himself. He sucked in a sharp breath upon seeing the decrepit state the twins were in with his own eyes, from Mabel's visibly broken bones to Dipper's nearly paper-white skin. Still, he refused to give up the fading hope that they were still alive somehow. "No, t-they're ok! They'll be just fine! I can fix them with my healing spit, just like I did to Connie's eyes! Let me just-"

"No!" Stan suddenly shouted, his gaze snapping upwards as he sent Steven the harshest glare he could muster, even if it was still a tearful one.

"B-but I-"

"But nothing!" the conman snapped, absolutely livid and anguished all at once. "This is all your fault in the first place, kid! I knew I should have never let them hang around with you or the Gems! All you ever did was drag them into your dumb adventures and get them into trouble! And now, because of you and that… that water lady, they're… they're…" Stan paused, his sights drifting down to the twins once more as unspeakable pain flushed his features, pain that was soon replaced with unbridled fury once more. "They're dead!"

Steven froze upon hearing such a harsh accusation, his eyes wide with oncoming tears of guilt and sorrow, especially as he glanced at his lifeless friends once again. A thousand different emotions overwhelmed the young Gem at once, not a single one of them pleasant or even remotely good, but before he could even think of something to say, another voice rang out instead.

"NO!" Lapis' distraught cry pierced the air, her tower crumbling, as the water from it poured downwards towards the waterfall, though fortunately all of it swerved cleanly around the group gathered on the riverbank. As the last of the tower fell, the blue Gem herself appeared, falling to the ground somewhat clumsily, her manner clearly frantic as she pulled herself to her feet. "No! T-they can't be—I didn't—I didn't mean to! They're not-" Lapis cut her panicked exclamations off with a gasp as the Gems jumped in between her and the others, all three of them glaring at her with untold rage, their weapons drawn and ready to attack.

"N-no! You guys, wait!" Steven cried to his guardians, desperate for this already awful situation to not get any worse. "Don't hurt-"

" _You_!" Stan interjected with a fierce shout as he finally laid the twins' bodies down gently and rose to stand and face who he perceived their murderer to be himself. "You did this! Why—why I oughta punch you all the way into orbit for what you did to them!"

"I-I never wanted to hurt them!" Lapis tried to defend herself, the anguish in her expression just as clear as it was in everyone else's. "I was just-"

"But you _did_ hurt them," Garnet interrupted, her tone frighteningly cold as she clenched her gauntleted fists tightly. "You did even worse than that! You _killed_ them!"

"I-I… I didn't… I never… I…" A ragged sob finally spilled from the blue Gem, tears pouring out of her mirror like eyes as her gaze shifted towards the twins lying on the ground, neither of them capable of moving or doing anything else, ever again. "I… I'm sorry…" Lapis whispered, more to Dipper and Mabel than anyone else, even if, despite her limited understanding on human death, she knew they wouldn't hear her.

"Stop!" Steven shouted out again as the Gems converged on the blue Gem, easily poofing her. Their shared fury was so intense that they were all more than ready to shatter her on the spot, but for the sake of their already distraught young ward, they refrained. After all, he had already lost two of his friends in one day. He didn't need to lose another one.

Overwhelmed by all that had just happened, the young Gem finally collapsed to his knees above the twins, not bothering to spare his guardians a second glance as they sent the now bubbled Lapis back to the temple. He didn't even look up at Connie as she knelt down beside him, placing a trembling hand on his shoulder as they both simply stared at their fallen friends in mournful disbelief. To think that just mere hours ago, both Dipper and Mabel had been alive and well and determined to complete this daunting mission was something that shook Steven and Connie to their cores, especially seeing as how that very mission had ended up claiming their lives. But even more horrific and painful than that was the thought that they would never get to hang out with the twins again, to talk to them or laugh along with them, or even just see them alive and well and unhurt. Their deaths had happened so suddenly that no one could have been ready for them, but Steven and Connie had by far been the least prepared. After all, they were all still so young, far too young to even have the thought of death on their minds at all. But even so, death had come all the same. In its arrival, it had taken not just one of them, but two. And as much as neither Steven or Connie wanted to believe it, death would never, ever return the twins to them.

And, just like Stan had said, Steven knew he only really had himself to blame. Even if Lapis' water clones had been the physical perpetrators, the twins would have never even been in such danger if they _all_ hadn't set her free from the mirror in the first place. And they never would have set her free if they had never found that mirror, and they would have never found the mirror if they hadn't been hanging out at the shack the previous day, and they wouldn't have been hanging out at the shack if they weren't friends, and they never would have become friends if they had never even met in the first place. It all came full circle, Steven knew. He knew that if Dipper and Mabel had never met him, then they'd still be warm and alive at this moment instead of cold and dead. And the knowledge of that alone was such a heavy burden to bear that the young Gem essentially crumbled under its massive weight.

"D-Dipper… Mabel…" Steven finally choked, a tight sob racking his entire frame as Connie let out another small one of her own. "I… I'm so, _so_ sorry…" The young Gem wanted to say so much more to them, but the words just wouldn't come. Not that it mattered anyway, seeing as how they wouldn't hear any of his apologies, but that still didn't stop his morose tears from falling as he hung his head over the twins'. Unable to bear the sight of their blank, empty expressions, he shut his eyes tightly, blocking even Connie out as she embraced him to try and provide him with some semblance of comfort, even if she had none herself at the moment.

Steven's tears were so plentiful and so painful that he didn't even notice as they started to fall down onto the twins themselves. In fact, he didn't notice as one tear landed squarely on Mabel's cheek and as another one fell on Dipper's forehead. And even still, he didn't notice as the spots where the tears hit the twins both steadily started to light up with soft pink glows that soon began to spread all over both of their bodies.

"S-Steven…?!" Connie spoke up, her eyes widening as she saw this alarming sight for herself. Confused, the young Gem opened his eyes, a startled gasp escaping them as he watched this pink hue cover both Dipper and Mabel entirely. In an instant, their hair shifted from the same shade of brown to the same shade of pastel pink, their paled, swallow skin turning to a darker variety of the same color. Their respective injuries seemed to vanish away, with only a few minor scars remaining as the others turned around in alarm to see what was happening, even if none of them had any idea what was going on at all. And yet, as disturbed and bewildered as they all were, their shock only increased as a pair soft, barely inaudible, but practically unified groans rose up from the twins themselves.

The others could only watch with wide eyes as Dipper slowly and groggily sat up, Mabel following suit but a few seconds later. Their eyes were open and normal, and their movements natural enough, even if their coloration was now anything but normal or natural. "Ugh, what just happened?" Dipper asked somewhat tiredly, not even noticing the awestruck stares focused on both of them. "Why do I feel like I just swallowed 20 gallons of water at once?"

"Yeah, and why do I have such a monster back ache?" Mabel moaned, stretching her mostly healed back out as she fixed her posture. She did pause, however, upon finally seeing just how dumbfounded everyone seemed to be as they looked towards them. "Uh, what are you guys looking at? Oh! Did we already get the waterfall back from Lapis? I can't believe we missed it if we did! I bet it looked so cool when it was coming down!"

"Uh… y-you guys?" Connie spoke up to the twins in a whisper, briefly glancing over at Steven, who couldn't even tear his still tearful gaze away from the twins. "You… w-well, you both were…"

"Dudes," Soos interjected, thankfully not pouring out the unfortunate truth upon the twins so soon. "You, uh, might wanna take a look at yourselves…"

"Huh? Why?" Dipper frowned in confusion, though that confusion was quickly replaced with shock as he glanced over at his sister. "Oh my gosh, Mabel! You… you're pink!"

"Whaaaa? No way!" Mabel scoffed, shaking her head as she looked her brother up and down. " _You're_ the one who's pink, bro-bro!"

"What? No, I'm-" Dipper cut himself off with an alarmed gasp as he glanced down at his arms only to see that they were indeed unmistakably pink. "No way…" he muttered in apt shock. "W-what happened to us?!"

"Who cares?!" Mabel exclaimed with a delighted smile, gleefully grabbing onto her newly pastel colored locks. "I have pink hair, just like I've always wanted! Whatever happened, it turned us into two totally awesome pink powerhouses!"

"I-I don't know if 'awesome' is the word I'd use to describe it…" Dipper remarked fretfully, running a hand through his own now-pink hair. "I really hope this isn't permanent… whatever this is…"

"I… I can't believe it…" Stan finally spoke up, cutting through the twins' surprise as he stepped towards them. Tears filled his eyes once more, a sight that surprised Dipper and Mabel almost as much as much as their sudden change in hue. Nonetheless, the conman wasted no time rushing towards them, pulling them both into a practically crushing hug as he let out an overjoyed, triumphant laugh. "You're alive! I mean, you're both pink and everything now and that's sorta weird and unsettling, but still; you're both alive!"

"Well, of course we're alive, Grunkle Stan!" Mabel chuckled in slight confusion as she returned the conman's embrace. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"O-oh, uh, well…" Pearl began anxiously as her and the other Gems approached. "Y-you… you both were… S-something happened and… you both…"

"Just spit it out already, P," Amethyst rolled her eyes. "You guys both totally kicked the bucket."

"Amethyst!" the white Gem scolded harshly.

"W-wait… what?" Dipper asked, quite alarmed by what the purple Gem had just tactlessly implied. "You… you mean we… we were…"

"Dead?" both twins said in unison, looking to each other with fearful disbelief, the memory of being away from life practically nonexistent for them both.

"You were…" Garnet said, her tone somewhat uneven as she looked away. "Until Steven brought you both back."

Upon hearing this news, the twins both glanced to Steven, curious to hear him confirm or deny such a claim. The young Gem finally broke his intent eye contact with the pair, rubbing his arm as he muttered out the truth. "Uh… y-yeah, I guess I sort of did… I-I don't know how though. And I don't know why you're both pink now. S-sorry…"

"Sorry?" Mabel frowned sympathetically. "Steven, don't be sorry! You totally saved our lives! _And_ you made us the prettiest color _ever_! I can't even think of anything more amazing than that!"

"Mabel's right," Dipper agreed firmly. "Yeah, we might be oddly, uh, pink for some reason now, but if it wasn't for you, Steven, then I guess we'd both be… well, you know…" He trailed off with a rather uncomfortable frown, still largely unable to come to grips with the fact that they had both indeed been completely dead for at least several minutes, if not more.

Steven admittedly wanted to protest the twins letting what he did off so easily, especially seeing as how it was his fault that they had died in the first place, but before he could, Garnet staunchly interrupted. "There's no doubt the two of you have a lot of questions about what happened," she remarked to the twins, her visor appearing over her trio of eyes once again. "And there will be plenty of time to answer them later. But for now, I think if we all headed home."

"Good idea, stretch," Stan said, his usual deadpan manner returning as he helped pull the twins to their feet. "All this emotional outpouring has me in need of about a years' sleep. And I'm sure after your little tussle with the grim reaper, you munchkins could probably use some shut eye too, huh?"

"Actually, I'm not tired, like, at all," Mabel said. "What about you, bro-bro?"

"Uh, no, not really," Dipper replied. "Really, all I wanna do is figure out why we're so much more… _pink_ than usual…"

"Well maybe you dudes can do that after a good meal?" Soos suggested with a smile as they all began to head back to the vehicles. "None of us have eaten since before we left to come up here, and I don't know about everyone else, but I'm like, totally starving!"

"Eh, I think I'll pass on that meal, Soos," Dipper shrugged.

"Same here," Mabel stuck her tongue out. "For some reason food doesn't as tasty as it usually does. Probably has to do with that whole dying thing, I guess."

"Uh, are you guys sure you're ok?" Connie asked with apt worry upon hearing this.

"Um, yeah, I guess so," Dipper shrugged, mostly unconcerned. "We're probably about as ok as we can be, what with the whole dying and coming back pink thing."

"Heck, we're better than ok now!" Mabel quipped cheerfully. "If what you guys said about us being, uh…. gone is true, then I guess we should count ourselves as pretty lucky that we're still up and kicking. Not to mention that we both look totally cool now!"

"Speak for yourself," Dipper remarked somewhat dryly, frowning insincerely as he looked to his newly-pink hand once more.

Everyone else got something of a forced, but still genuine laugh out of the twins' reactions to their new appearances, mostly out of a severe need for levity after everything that had just happened. However, as they continued on to the cars, Steven lingered a bit behind, his expression awash with worry and regret as he looked to the twins up ahead. The young Gem certainly harbored no regrets over the fact that they were alive and seemingly well once again; in fact, he was practically overwhelmed with relief by that fact. But what bothered Steven was the fact that his own tears, which supposedly lacked the healing power his spit had, were what ended up somehow bringing them both back to life. And even more than that, it had apparently changed them, most likely not just in hue if their lack of appetite or a need for sleep were any indication. As it stood, Steven really had no idea what he really did to the twins, but whatever it was, he couldn't help but feel remorse over having to do it in the first place. The thought that their now-passed deaths was unshakable in the young Gem's mind, the very mental image of their listless, lifeless bodies serving as a grim reminder to him that what happened here today, both good and bad, had been solely his fault. Even if he had brought them back to life, they should have never even died in the first place, and that was what ultimately filled Steven with such heavy guilt and remorse. And while Dipper and Mabel and likely everyone else would try to convince him otherwise, the young Gem knew that he'd likely never be able to shake that guilt off. Not that he felt like he even deserved to in the first place. "Yeah…" Steven muttered to himself despondently, finally tearing his gaze away from the pair of pink twins as they moved on without him. "Lucky…"

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 **So yeah, a nice little short one to start off on (these will all completely vary in length btw). So I hope you all enjoyed it, because I just about cried several times while writing it. Either way, let me know what you thought! Chances are this collection will be updated rather infrequently, with new oneshots coming around whenever I feel like writing one and not on a consistent schedule like what UF itself tries to be on. Still, I'm eager to tackle all of these different AUs for once, and I do have a few more of these already planned (I'm thinking Swap Future Vision is in the offing very soon... ;) But for now, don't forget to follow, favorite, and REVIEW please! Until next time (which will probably be with the next chapter of Universe Falls itself, but still, until then!)**


	2. Crystal Falls: Reaching Out

_Wow it has been SUCH a long time since I've done one of these, huh? Well the only reason I did is because I came up with a brand new UF AU recently, one that I can't stop talking about over on my tumblr and if you've been there lately, then you'll know exactly what this is all about but if you don't then allow me to explain a bit more about what I like to call the Crystal Falls AU:_

 _AU: Crystal Falls: the basic gist here is that humans and Gems swap roles. So humans are the race bent on intergalactic conquest while Gemkind lives peacefully and happily on Homeworld. We get a lot of character specific switching in here, such as Rose and Greg (with Greg being the one who led a rebellion against Earth to protect Homeworld), the Pines more or less swapping with the Crystal Gems in that Stan and Ford helped out in the rebellion back in the day (like 30 years before most of the stuff in this oneshot happens) (Steven's still half Gem though and Rose is still around but Greg isn't), Bill and the Diamonds switching (though as you'll see here Bill kinda swaps roles a bit with Jasper too), Dipper swaps roles with Lapis (which is a particularly important aspect in this oneshot to keep in mind), Gideon with Jasper (kinda again, Bill also fills in her role a bit ot an extent), Pacifica with Peridot, and so on and so forth. There are more details to it as well, but its kinda dense so I'll leave it at that. If you want more info you can go find a more specific rundown, you can find that here:_ _minijenn .tumblr post / 168023936699 / minijenn-so-doing-this-pallet-swap-last-night (remove all those spaces)._

 _So yeah with that rundown in mind, I suppose we should get started but not before I warn you that this one gets... dark... like really really really **dark** on a conceptual level and terrible things happen in it (that kinda make UF Sock Opera seem like a walk in the park by comparison and if you've read that then you know that this is gonna up everything that happened there by 11) so if blood or harm to pretty young children isn't something you're down for... then yeah you might wanna skip this one... But if you're down for copious amounts of Pines twins angst, then go ahead and enjoy!_

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 _Crystal Falls_

 _Reaching Out_

The concept of a "normal childhood" was a completely foreign one to both of the Pines twins, just as it had been to their uncles before them and to every other human born either into the conquest-hungry legacy of planet Earth or into the rebellion that had risen up to thwart one such conquest. The twins found their roots in the latter camp, even if their actual birthplace had been on Earth as opposed to the mostly peaceful Homeworld that had become their own home after their parents' death. "Because where else were the next seeds of justice and peace to be raised but on the very planet we all swore our lives to protect?" Ford often boldly claimed throughout the twins' younger years. Stan would usually just offer a playful scoff at his brother's melodrama, Dipper and Mabel chuckling in amusement before running off to go play with Steven under the Crystal Gems' lax supervision. And for the first few years, that's what it was like; crystalline days, star-speckled nights, rousing tales of courageous battles gone by, laughter amidst streets filled with Gems bemused by their antics, comfort, happiness, friendship, family, and most of all, peace. Peace so hard fought for, so hard won. And of course, not at all destined to last.

Because when the twins were only five years old, that peace was shattered for them both the very same moment the glass of one of the shack's windows shattered one night when they were asleep. The very moment it did, Stan and Ford were already on high alert, rushing to grab the confused, groggy younger twins and whisk them away to safety without even explaining what they were really running from. The threat soon made itself obvious, however, when the family emerged into the night, only to be adamantly pursued by a sizable group of masked figures. By their odd, militaristic outfits, it was clear that they weren't Gems, and later the twins would find out exactly what their uncles had known from the moment this all began: that these assailants were Earthlings, sent to destroy the very last remnants of the rebellion left on Homeworld. In other words, them. A task that, against all odds, they unquestionably succeeded in in the worst of ways.

All it took was one tiny moment, one perfectly aimed shot at Stan's exposed back for him to go crashing down, momentarily paralyzed by the blast as Dipper fell out of his arms. Despite his uncle's desperate attempts to convince him to flee, the young boy was just as stunned as he was, though more out of fear than anything else as their pursuers made their fast, final approach.

Ford has already ran ahead of Stan with Mabel in tow, but he stopped and turned back around in an instant upon hearing Dipper's distressed, pleading cry. Without hesitation, the former rebel began racing after the Earth loyalists as they started hauling his nephew away, despite his best attempts to struggle against them and Stan's best attempts to move and stop this horrific kidnapping before it could even begin. Likewise, Ford shot after the assailants, trying his best to get a clean shot in that wouldn't end up harming Dipper. Tears had already started forming in Mabel's eyes as she remained secure in Ford's grip, while her brother was being stolen away from her right in front of her own eyes. Yet both of the twins, even as young as they were, had a dreadful feeling about how all this was going to turn out. And those fears soon came true as Mabel noticed Dipper reaching out his unrestrained hand to her, his eyes wide and wet with terror as his captors refused to relinquish their hold upon him. She extended her arm back out to him, the distance between them far too great for them to even come close to intertwining. Then, in a flash of what seemed almost like magic, the Earth loyalists disappeared into the night, taking Dipper right along with them.

Ford's blaster hit the ground the moment they all vanished, his eyes wide with shock as he tried to figure out where they might have gone. But all the while, Mabel kept her arm reaching out, a tight sob escaping her as she realized her brother might never meet it again.

For seven years, she kept on reaching for him. It it was only after he finally returned that she found he had stopped reaching back.

* * *

"When are we going to find Dipper?" Mabel asked almost constantly within the first 24 hours after his abduction. Stan and Ford could only offer her the terse answer of "soon" as they continued discussing the matter with Rose, Pearl, and Amethyst, all of their voices in hushed, anxious whispers that neither Mabel nor Steven could really hear.

"When are we going to find Dipper?" Mabel asked after a week had passed. By now, almost all the Gems in Crystal Falls had gotten in on the intensive search for the missing boy, all of them more than happy to do anything they could to help two of the humans who were instrumental in saving their world. Things had been largely fruitless so far though; the Earth loyalists had been very smart in covering their tracks to the point that even the most astute Gems couldn't find so much as a trace. But still, Stan and Ford refused to let their mournful niece lose hope that her brother would be returned to her safe and sound. And so once again, they answered "soon" before tucking her into bed for what would no doubt be yet another sleepless night.

"When are we going to find Dipper?" Mabel asked after a month, an exasperated,almost frustrated sigh escaping her along with the question. This question had been a constant every single day now, usually aimed at Stan or Ford or one of the Crystal Gems. And as time went on and the bags under her uncles' eyes grew darker and deeper and the Gems of Crystal Falls slowly began winding their search efforts down, the answer started to turn from a "soon" to a "we don't know".

"When are we going to find-"

"We're _not_ gonna find him!" Stan slammed his fist down on the table, his expression and tone rife with both grief and anger. A year had passed, a year that had felt like 20 to Mabel, and even if she was still only 6, the weight of just how incredibly _long_ it had been since she had seen Dipper, since they had been happy and together was not lost on her. And yet, for the first time in 365 days, her fretful curiosity was not met with positivity or uncertainty. It was met with a no.

Needless to say that Ford was quick to counter his brother's harsh reply with sharp disapproval, and soon enough they had launched into a fierce argument. Mabel simply curled herself into a tight ball, hugging her knees to her chest as she dolefully listened to her uncles fight, something that had become a very common occurrence over the past year. She was only half paying attention to their squabble as she settled into her own morose thoughts, but what she did pick up from their unrestrained argument unnerved her to the bone.

"It's time to stop kidding ourselves, Ford! If he was still here on Homeworld we would have found him already! Chances are those lunatics probably dragged him off back to Earth a long time ago!"

"W-well, then we'll build a ship! I'll get Rose, Pearl, and Amethyst to help us! Maybe even recruit some of the other more technologically inclined Gems. We'll go to Earth a-and bring him back, and-"

"And what?! You honestly expect us to survive ten seconds on Earth when we're at the top of their most wanted list?! If Greg was still around, then _maybe_ I'd think about it, but on our own? It's a suicide mission for sure."

"But we _can't_ just forget about Dipper, Stanley! Who knows what those… those barbarians have done with him?!"

"I haven't forgotten about him! The kid's pretty much the only thing I've been thinking about for the past year, but he's not the _only_ thing we have to protect around here. We gotta think about Mabel now, Ford. They already took one of 'em; we can't let them have them both."

Ford's half of the argument finally faltered at this, his shoulders sagging in defeat as he turned away bitterly, clearly fighting back tears. Stan let out a long, guilty sigh as he glanced over at Mabel, whose eyes were overflowing with questions about everything she had just heard. And while it had taken almost a year, Stan realized he had finally worked up the nerve to start answering some of them.

Explaining the concept of death to a child who had spent almost her entire life on a planet populated by beings who were practically immortal would have been a hard enough undertaking as it was. But explaining that such a thing could have happened to said child's very own brother was something else entirely. And it was because of that, that Stan was completely unable to keep tears out of his eyes as he slowly, gently explained to Mabel that he believed the worst had happened to her brother, that their futile search was at last coming to an end, that their family was now forever fractured as a result. That, more than likely, Dipper was dead.

* * *

Except no, he wasn't.

But he might as well have been.

Because from the very moment Dipper had been brutally torn away from his family, his entire life turned upside down in the most horrific of ways. As soon as they had gotten out of Stan and Ford's immediate range, the Earth loyalists had wasted no time in showing just how ruthless they were by throwing their young captive to the ground roughly and binding him tightly before he could even think of trying to run away. From there, a very long, downright perilous journey commenced, one that Dipper was essentially dragged along the entire way for by his callously cruel captors. All too quickly, the familiar greenery of Crystal Falls started to fade out into the barren, yet mysteriously lovely crystalline scenery of Homeworld that lay beyond the sector's borders. Needless to say that Dipper was overwhelmed with curiosity and fear about where these loyalists were taking him, but any meek attempt on his part to ask any questions was met with jeering silence, hateful warnings, or even the occasional hard slap or kick. Clearly, his uncles had underplayed just how malicious the Earthlings were in all their light hearted war stories; because these people were wicked, downright heartless even, in ways that Dipper had never in his young life been exposed to before.

As their lengthy trek dragged on into days, even his homesick tears were only met by mocking laughter, his pleas for freedom receiving only cold denial. But even so, Dipper held onto the hope that Stan and Ford would come after him; that they'd beat these brutes back and bring him home to be safe and sound with Mabel once again. Certainly there was no question that they'd come, that they'd find him, that they'd all be reunited as a family once more. Perhaps they were already on their way even as the Earth loyalists continued pulling him across Homeworld's dry, empty landscapes. He just had to be patient, to keep on hoping, and soon enough they'd be there. He just knew it.

Eventually their travels came to an end as they reached what ended up being a rather well hidden tunnel that led deep underground. Dipper had never really been afraid of the dark, but there was no denying the sudden terror coursing through him as he was shoved into this foreboding darkness, almost as if something inside of him knew that if he went in there, he wouldn't be coming back out. The trip through the tunnel didn't last too long before it ended at a large, square room, all four of its towering walls oddly composed of large mirrors, with a small opening in the ceiling high above providing the room's only natural light. Dipper couldn't make sense of this bizarre set up as he was shoved into it, the wall to the tunnel closing off behind him and leaving him cornered alone with his captors.

And if he had thought things had been bad before, this was where everything became unimaginably worse.

In a sense, it was almost as if the Earth loyalists didn't know they had captured a mere child based on how they treated him. Because the unprovoked, merciless beating they gave their young captive in those first few hours would have been horrific enough for an adult. But for a child, it was so, so much worse. Dipper was completely powerless to stop any of the senselessly aggressive blows landed upon him by the much larger adult loyalists, each one of their attacks carrying some kind of venomous slur: "Rebel scum should have been mutated with the rest of them." "Filthy traitor, just like the rest of his disgusting family." "If only we'd gotten the girl too, Cipher would have rewarded us twice as much." And so on and so forth for what seemed like _ages_ until it finally stopped, though it hardly felt like it was over. Dipper could barely move at all as he lay in a crumpled heap on the ground, his own blood pooling around him as he tried to block out the triumphant laughter of his captors, tried to ignore the biting pain that was _everywhere_ , tried to imagine his family breaking that wall down, rushing in and sweeping him off to warmth and safety and away from this waking nightmare.

A nightmare that simply refused to end.

Almost as soon as the beating ended, the interrogation began, though it was nothing better. If anything it was worse, seeing as how the loyalists kept hounding him and hounding him with questions he simply _didn't_ have any answers for. "Where is the leader of the rebellion?" "Are there more of you filthy rebels out there?" "What kind of weapons are your uncles holing up in that base of theirs?" "How many of those pathetic Gems are allied to your side?" And again and again and again, endless questions that made no sense to him, ones he couldn't even think to come up with anything for in his battered state that only got worse as he was physically punished for each and every wrong, unknowing answer.

And so it went on like this for quite some time. It was hard to keep track of time in this minimal mirrored space, but Dipper tried in the rare moments whenever his captors weren't abusing him. By his estimation from the light pouring in from the ceiling, several days had passed, probably more, and still no sign of Stan, Ford, or anyone making even an attempt to save him. But even so, despite how terrible things were, he was still hopeful. Maybe they were just having a difficult time finding him; perhaps they were searching the entire planet over, all in a desperate attempt to learn where he was being held. So he continued to carry that hope, forced it to be the only thing he thought of when the loyalists lay their unforgiving hands on him.

But hope could only get him so far.

Days started to turn into weeks and the loyalists were clearly starting to get impatient with the lack of information they were getting from their young captive. Miraculously, the beatings had lessened, though only because they had realized that they'd probably end up killing him if they kept at it with as much frequent intensity. But the loyalist leader was adamant. He often complained about having been assigned to simply "babysit some rebel brat", and it was clear he was growing tired of such a doldrum lot. And though the other loyalists warned him against it, he soon decided to take matters into his own hands.

He stormed into the cell lividly one day, a long knife in his hand as he caught Dipper wistfully staring up at the light from above. The leader sneered coldly, quickly catching the boy's attention and prompting him to scramble to his feet and back away in a fearful, feeble attempt to put some distance between himself and his captor. "Aw… what?" the leader scoffed, his leering smirk hidden behind his concealing mask. "You think your uncles are gonna come swoop in here and save you? Please." The leader laughed darkly as he suddenly kicked Dipper cleanly in the stomach, knocking him back roughly before he grabbed him by the front of his shirt and forced him up to his level. "Face it, kid: those has-beens aren't coming for you. And can you really blame them? Look at you? Scrawny, weak, _pathetic_. Who would even want you? If we were back on Earth, then you'd have been somebody's target practice by now. You're a _waste_ , just like this entire worthless planet is. But hey, if you wanna keep staring up at the sky with that pointless hope of yours, then be my guest! In fact…" the leader's voice dropped low and sinister as he lifted his knife, eliciting a small, fearful whimper out of Dipper as he held it dangerously close to his face. "I'll even help you get a better _view_!"

In a movement so fast Dipper couldn't have even seen it coming, the leader lashed his blade out, its sharp tip catching the upper half of his face before swiping across his eyes in a swift, fluid movement. The boy was powerless to hold back an absolutely agonized scream at this, pain overwhelming his every sense as the leader carelessly dropped him with a sadistic chuckle, watching him writhe in anguish as the heavy wound poured with thick, dark blood. In a pathetic attempt to block out the pain, Dipper closed his cut eyes as much as he could, sobbing miserably as he forgot about everything else but the anguish, so deep and so unbearable that it eventually ended up sweeping him into the void of unconsciousness altogether.

He didn't know exactly when it was that he opened his eyes again; but when he did, he was met with nothing but both lasting pain and the sight of complete and absolute nothingness. There was no color, no shapes, nothing. And yet, he could still feel the ground below him, could hear his own sharp, panicked breathing as clear as day. So why couldn't he see?

And then it struck him. The memory of a knife ripping across his eyes. His sight being torn away from him at that horrible moment. The blood still stuck to his face from the wound running almost entirely across his face. The incredibly crippling fear that he would never see _anything_ ever again.

Stan had used a word for such a condition before, but Dipper was hard pressed to remember it. Blonde? Blunde? Blind? Blind sounded the most correct out of those, so that was what he went with to describe the unfamiliar sensation, but it still hardly helped him feel better. Because now, all he could do was weakly pull himself up to sit and try to feel his way around, grasping at nothing but empty air before finally reaching the smooth surface of one of the mirror walls boxing him in. As he touched it's cold exterior, Dipper couldn't help but feel as though something else was wrong too, aside from the horrific fact that his eyes seemed to no longer work. For the first time since he had gotten here, the room was completely silent. No sound of jeering loyalists, or threatening footsteps or anything else really. His non-existent vision was useless in giving him any actual information, but as far as he could tell without it, the loyalists were gone. He waited in silence, unable to tell how much time had passed anymore with all sense of light now stolen away from him, for those footsteps to return, for their wicked mocking to resume, for the pain he had grown so accustomed to by now to continue but… it never did. He could have waited for years and they never would have returned. And after about what felt like a month or so, Dipper finally allowed himself to feel some form of relief from that.

That relief was short lived however as he realized that the loyalists had essentially abandoned him in a prison he had no power to escape from even when he did have his eyesight. But now, as blinded and weak as he was, he was even more trapped than ever before. The only way he managed to actually survive was through the small constant trickle of water that came in through a pipe installed at the corner of the cell. As far as food went, it was rather sparse for the first few weeks, with the only thing he had to rely on being the scraps of bread he had wisely managed to save from whatever meager helpings the loyalists had thrown his way. Still, as time went on and that supply started to run out, he quickly began to fade. His injuries, while slowly healing on their own, were still not properly treated and his stomach was filled with only a deep, aching hunger that the tiny scraps he was trying his best to preserve could not satisfy. But still, he knew he had to hold out; Stan and Ford and Mabel were coming to save him, he _had_ to keep reminding himself. They were coming to save him and take him home and he didn't even care if he wouldn't be able to see them because just _hearing_ his sister's voice again would be enough.

And so he sat tight in that cell, sitting directly under the light from above, his unseeing eyes staring off at nothing as he spent his empty time repeating that hopeful mantra to himself over and over and over again. "They're gonna come…" he began in a whisper, his voice hoarse and shaky from a lack of use but even so he kept going. "They're gonna come find me… They're _going_ to save me… T-they… they _do_ want me… They're coming… They're on their way here right now… T-they'll be here soon… I… I know it..."

Many days were spent like this, with him whispering these gentle, but comforting promises to himself, desperately clinging onto the idea that they were _real,_ that they would come true. That they were more than just an empty, meaningless dream.

His energy soon started to wane more and more each day as his stock of food grew dangerously low. With not even enough strength left to remain sitting up, he eventually resorted to lying in place, though his self-reassurance didn't stop. Occasionally, whenever he'd fall asleep, he'd find himself back home in Crystal Falls, bright and happy and colorful as he sat at the dinner table with Mabel, Stan, and Ford, all of them laughing warmly as they ate deliciously to their hearts' content. And then, he'd open his eyes once again and be met with absolutely nothing once more, his heart and hopes sinking lower and lower every single time.

However, it was during one of these wistful dreams that his usual empty routine was abruptly interrupted. Upon feeling something unfamiliar brush against his leg, Dipper flinched awake, instinctually glancing down only to bitterly remember sight was no longer a privilege he had. So instead, he reached down, feeling his way as he often did until he made contact with the small, brightly chirping creature who had happened to invade his cell. The more he felt this seemingly amicable being out, the more he realized its bumpty round hardened surface felt… familiar. In fact, the more he thought about it, this thing seemed to be exactly like the small, friendly Geodite creatures that the forests of Crystal Falls were littered with. The thought of home was enough to elicit a small smile from Dipper as he forced himself to sit up, despite the painful protest his starving stomach gave him, so he could properly greet the first real semblance of company he had in quite some time.

"Hey there, little guy," he began, his voice still rather weak as he allowed the friendly Geodite to crawl into his lap as he continued stroking it. "You're a long way from home, aren't you? I know what that's like… How did you get in here? Did you climb down from all the way up there?" The Geodite, seeming to understand, let out a bright chirp in response, one that Dipper couldn't help but let out a small laugh at. Even though it wasn't much, the very thought of not being so _alone_ anymore managed to brighten his spirits just a bit. But at the same time, it also made him think of something else, something he hadn't before. Something that could very well finally end up being his ticket out of here. "Wait… you came from up there…" he nodded upward, wishing so much that he could see that promising beam of light once more. "That means… you could go get help! Quick! Go back up there and find my Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford! A-and Mabel too! Especially Mabel… I… I miss her so much… I wonder if she misses me too…"

The Geodite interrupted his pensive thoughts with an excitable chirp as it suddenly lept from his lap, scurrying away until the only thing Dipper could make out were its clattering footsteps as he began walking against one of the mirror walls. It stopped somewhere above him, chirping encouragingly this time as Dipper frowned and shook his head sadly. "I… I'm sorry… I can't see you… o-or anything really…" The Geodite simply chirped again before its skittering continued until it gradually disappeared into silence, leaving Dipper to morosely realize that he was left alone once again.

Or so he thought; for just a few hours later, the Geodite finally returned, though it wasn't alone. Several more seemed to follow it, all of them cheerfully "singing" as they made their way down to Dipper, who was admittedly confused as one of them seemed to push something towards him. It was only as he picked the object up and felt out its soft, smooth, sweet-smelling texture that he excitedly realized exactly what this was. "Fruit!" he gasped in shock, not hesitating to take a generous first bite. Its immediate sweetness filled him with immeasurable relief as he realized that he was actually going to have something resembling decent food since his capture. Yet the Geodites weren't finished yet, for as he gave them his wholehearted thanks, they presented him with even more pieces of fruit, as well as nuts and even a few vegetables. Needless to say that Dipper was quite confused as to where they had ascertained all this food from seeing as how such plants (or any plants really) weren't native to Homeworld, which left him to assume that a terraformed sector, much like Crystal Falls, couldn't have been too far away from wherever his underground cell was. But even so, the Geodites didn't stop off at one delivery; they kept their self-started food service going, supplying Dipper with as much food as he could hope to eat.

It took a little time, but eventually his energy, as well as his drive returned to him, inspiring him with the motivation to try and finally find a way out of his cell. Even if he was essentially stumbling in the dark, he still walked along the perimeter of the room, feeling his way against the glass walls in the hopes that one of them wielded a door. Unfortunately, there were all completely seamless, with no apparent exit in sight which only left him with one other option: trying to break the glass itself. And so he tried and tried and tried and tried but it never seemed to so much as even crack. Even throwing one of the willing Geodites into it did nothing to dent his longtime prison. After weeks and weeks, his escape efforts started to diminish along with his hope. Even if he did have suffice food and water and company, he still lacked the one thing that he was yearning for the most, something that he hadn't known for so very long that he was starting to forget what it even felt like: freedom.

Every now and then he'd give himself that reminder that his family was still out there looking for him, but that was starting to become less and less frequent as the days went by. When the Geodites first came to him, he'd pass the time by recounting what stories he could remember from before his capture, stories of him and Mabel and all the fun they used to have together but as time went on, those stories started to blur within his memory. He held no question in his mind about Mabel and his connection to her or Stan or Ford, but the specifics seemed to be fading away as months passed on into years. And as those years came and went so too did the hope that he'd ever step foot out of that cell.

But certainly, he tried to reason with himself amidst empty days only occasionally broken by a Geodite generously delivering him his next meal, they were still looking for him.

Certainly, he rationalized as his blank, blinded eyes stared at the ground in front of him, his mind starting to forget what things like color, light, or even his own sister's face even looked like, they would be coming any day now.

Certainly, he thought as he lay down to sleep only for his once hopeful dreams of home gradually stopped altogether, they would find him.

Certainly… he realized, tears starting to fall from his clouded, ruined eyes as his heart broke and his hope finally died, they had abandoned him, just like everybody else.

And that's exactly what he believed for the next three years, his heart turning as cold and hard as the unyielding mirrors all around him. Until the day they finally _did_ come.

Which only made his heart turn even colder.

* * *

Seven years.

 _Seven_ years.

Seven years he had been gone, six of which she had presumed him to be dead. She had given up hope, just as her uncles had, of ever seeing him again. He had been captured and killed, far too young true, but killed nonetheless. That was it, wasn't it? End of story, nothing more to tell. Except it _wasn't_ the end.

Because here he was, standing right before her. _Her brother_ , so long thought to have died a tragic, undeserved death, had been _alive_ all these years, hidden away deep underground miles away from Crystal Falls.

For Mabel, there couldn't have possibly been anything more miraculous than this.

And yet… for as much as this was so unquestionably Dipper, she found that there was so much about him that… _wasn't_. He was so much gaunter and paler than he should have been, his hair an overgrown, scrubby mess and his clothes much too small for his now 12 year old body. But then there were his eyes, which had struck her to the core when she had first seen them. Grey and cloudy and unfocused as opposed to the warm, alert brown they should have been, the deep, wide mark of an old, settled scar discolorating the skin around them almost like a mask. Eyes that carried such a haunted, lost look to them that it completely chilled her in every way. Eyes that seemed to be set in a perpetually piercing stare in nothing in particular at all. Eyes that, as she quickly found out, had been completely and utterly blind for the past several years as he sat in this cold, hollow prison all by himself, waiting for help that never came.

Tears of relief and sympathy flooded her eyes as she rushed to embrace him, but on instinct he flinched away from her touch. His panicky manner became even more apparent when he heard Steven and Lapis speak up, his blindness barring both of them from his perception as he tried and failed to place voices to faces and faces to names. Mabel tried to ease him, tried to calm him down, but this attempt was only met with a kind of hostility she hadn't been expecting. Dipper's anxious manner soon turned fierce as he addressed her, not looking in her direction as he spoke to the open air and harshly accused her of forgetting about him, of leaving him to rot alone in this cell while she lived the safe, free, happy life he had never really known. Mabel could scarcely believe what she was hearing, and as much as she wanted to argue that not a day had gone by in which she hadn't thought about him, hadn't hoped against hope that he was somehow still alive and that they'd somehow be reunited once again, she didn't. Instead, she simply took his hand and slowly led him out of the cell that had been his home for the past seven years, giving him his first taste of renewed freedom that, from here on out, would only ever be tentative at best.

* * *

"You _stopped_?! What do you mean you stopped?! How could you just… just stop looking for me?!"

"Cut us some slack, kid! Its been _seven_ years! Can you really blame us for expecting the worst after those Earthling wackjobs took you?!"

"Yes, I can! You just gave up completely! Did you even wonder what they did to me down there?! What I've been through the past seven years of my life?!"

"We don't need to wonder, Dipper. W-we can see… And we're sorry if we threw in the towel too early, but-"

"You're _sorry?_ I spent over half my life buried underground, nearly _starved_ to death, and went _blind_ , and you're just _sorry_?!"

Once again, Mabel found herself curled up into a small, fretful ball, her knees snuggled under her shawl as she silently sat on the sidelines while her brother and uncles duked it out in by far the most vitriolic argument she had ever seen. Really, if she had to pick a side in it, she would have certainly been on Dipper's, mostly because she had always felt some small inkling in her heart that giving up the search for him had been wrong somehow. And even though that inkling turned out to be right, things still were far from blissful and happy like she had always dreamed they would be if her brother ever returned. In fact, things were anything but that as Dipper, Stan, and Ford continued to fight, their argument echoing brutally throughout the shack. Even Steven's comforting hand on her shoulder did little to ease her worry, which only spiked upon hearing her brother's intentions of going off-planet.

"W-wait… you're what?" she finally spoke up, sitting upright in her seat as she looked to him with wide eyes.

"You heard me," Dipper answered coldly, still looking at nothing as he responded. "I'm _leaving_. I'm not about to stay here and be a prisoner on this planet or in this family anymore! I want to be _free_ for a change. And I know I'll never, _ever_ be that here."

"Dipper, that's absurd," Ford remarked incredulously. "You can't leave Homeworld to openly traverse the depths of space on your own. You're much too-"

"Much too what? Young? Blind?" Dipper challenged crossly, his hands in tight fists at his sides. "I don't see why any of that matters, seeing as how I've been on my own for the past _seven_ years and managed to survive just fine all by myself!"

"Kid, don't be stupid about this," Stan scowled authoritatively. "You wouldn't last two seconds out there, not with all those Earth ships roaming around everywhere. Besides, you said so yourself; you've been gone for seven years. As far as we're concerned, you're gonna stay right here and make up for all that lost time."

"You still don't get it, do you?" Dipper asked harshly. "Do you _really_ think we can all just go right back to being some perfect, happy little family again after you guys just _forgot_ about me!?"

"Dipper, w-we didn't forget about you…" Mabel said, her voice fragile as she stepped over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, frowning as he flinched from the unexpected contact. "We just… we… we didn't know that you were… we-"

"You didn't _care_ ," he cut her off coldly, his blinded eyes set in a fierce, unforgiving glare as he pulled his shoulder away from her. He said nothing more as he turned and started feeling his way towards the door. While Stan made a move to try and stop him, Ford held him back, shaking his head sadly as he watched his battered, broken, bittered nephew leave as he placed the blame for his years upon years of endless suffering upon them all. Which, in so many ways, was a perfectly sensible thing to do.

But even so, Mabel hurried after her brother, intent on keeping him from disappearing from her life once again. Because even seven years later, she was still reaching out for him, even if she knew, deep down, that her extended hand had found him far too little and far too late.

* * *

Mabel knew she should have been happy for Dipper as she watched Steven heal his longstanding blindness, but the only thing she could do was frown as that healing spit worked its magic. As Dipper flinched back, closing his eyes and covering them out of surprise first before he slowly opened them once more. As he gasped, his returned brown eyes widening as they finally saw again for the first time in seven years. As tears started to well up in those eyes at how overwhelming it all was as he finally looked over to her in complete shock, as if he was seeing her for the first time ever.

Which, in a way, he was.

And in that moment, the way he smiled at her, the way he said her name with such awe and happiness in his voice, truly made her think that perhaps things might finally turn out alright. This feeling only grew as they mutually embraced, tears in both of their eyes now as the sheer triumph of the moment spoke louder than any words could. This was it, Mabel though with a contented sigh. This was exactly what had been missing the past several years. This was how everything was supposed to be.

Except it wasn't meant to last.

Because all too quickly their hug disbanded, all too quickly Dipper glanced longingly back at the ship he had been trying to steal just moments ago, all too quickly Mabel remembered exactly why she had been hesitant about Steven healing him in the first place. Because with his vision restored, now there was absolutely nothing stopping Dipper from leaving, this time on his own accord.

As Steven and Lapis both put forth efforts to try and coax him into staying, Mabel could only stand there in silence, shellshocked by how quickly everything had been unfolding. They had only just found him yesterday, but here he was, set to be taken away once more. She couldn't really blame him for wanting to leave though, there was no way she could have; because if their roles had been reversed and she had been trapped in one place for as long as he had, then she likely would have wanted to chase freedom just as much as he did.

Perhaps if she had at least some of his boldness, then she would have boarded that ship with him. Perhaps if it was just the two of them, with no friends or family or anything else on Homeworld to worry about, she would have joined him in sailing through the stars, both of them finally together like they should have always been. Perhaps she would have… but she didn't. Instead, she only watched, tears in his eyes as he departed, knowing that the chances of her ever seeing him again were small but at the very least he was _alive_ and _free_ as opposed to the alternative she had grown up believing was true. Still, that didn't stop her from reaching her hand out after his ship as it drifted higher and higher into the atmosphere, before it disappeared from view entirely.

Only this time, he didn't reach back.

* * *

Dipper had known, from the moment he touched down on Homeworld again, that this was a bad idea. That certainly he'd be followed here, that he'd lead those Earthlings right to the very place where his family still resided. And while he didn't really have his doubts that Stan and Ford would be able to fend off a few _kids_ from Earth, he did start to worry when Lapis ended up being the one to first discover him and his wrecked ship in the forest of Crystal Falls. He supposed he should have counted himself as lucky that it hadn't been Mabel, for certainly she would have dragged him back to the shack to tell Stan and Ford everything that he knew, something that he was far too uncomfortable to do so soon after returning. Fortunately, Lapis was much more patient with him, and through that patience, an unexpected bond began to form.

Even before his initial capture, Dipper had never gotten close to any Gems, including even the Crystal Gems who lived essentially right next door to his family. Even though they were practically everywhere, he had never really had any interest in befriending any of them, mostly since a large majority of them seemed to be so emotionally dry and distant. Lapis, however, was a stark exception to that, an example of a Gem who wore her metaphorical heart on her sleeve as well as her open curiosity, something that Dipper couldn't help but relate to. And so the unlikely pair steadily developed a genuine friendship, with Lapis coming by every day as Dipper continued repairing his crashed ship. As almost therapeutic as their peaceful time together was though, he knew it wasn't meant to last, for as Lapis professed her hopes that he would stay on Homeworld, Dipper found that his growing guilt and dread would no longer let him remain silent about the threat he knew was soon to come. And after telling Lapis about his perilous escape from Earth first, she urged him to go divulge it all to his family, knowing that they would need such pertinent information if they ever wanted to keep Crystal Falls, or Homeworld as a whole, safe. But how could he just go and tell them that he had led this threat right to their door? How could he admit to his uncles that they had been right all along? How could he apologize to Mabel for leaving her again, which was exactly what he had every intention of doing once this disaster was said and done?

But in the end, he did go and tell them, if for no one else than for Lapis. His resolve to remain professional nearly melted as Mabel rushed up to him, throwing her arms around him in a hug that she never thought she'd get to have again. Yet as much as he wanted to return her embrace, he didn't as he instead forced his manner to remain cold and unmoved while he stoically warned his uncles of the coming Earth invasion, watching stonefaced as their initial reaction rose into frantic panic. Then, with his message delivered, he slipped out once again, his refusal to let himself fall back into his own family just as staunch and hardened as ever.

And once again, he completely missed his sister's outstretched hand as he walked out, her heart reaching after him in the hopes that he would stay with her this time, but knowing that was far too much to hope for.

* * *

" _Well, well, well… looks like things just got a lot more_ _ **interesting**_ _…"_

Dipper gasped as he found that the very first thing he was met with upon pulling himself out of the crashed ship's wreckage was the pitchy voice of the demon who held domain over the entire Earth and all its vast empire. The very demon he had risked life and limb to escape from during his flight from that chaoitc planet, who should have been back on Earth seeing as how he had merely just sent two of his cronies to do his work for him. Yet now, Pacifica was nowhere to be found while Gideon simply stood by, fuming at how Bill was apparently ignoring his proposal to make a deal to take out the Pines family, as well as Steven and Lapis, who had been unfortunate enough to get caught up in all this. But instead, the demon's singular eye now held focus on Dipper, who couldn't deny the flash of terror that struck him as that imposing triangular form cast an oppressive shadow over him.

" _Hey there, Pine Tree! I was wondering where you ran off to. Guess my hunch about you crawling back to this boring ol' hunk of rock was right, huh?"_ Bill began quite effervescently, though as he noticed Dipper attempting to back away, he was quick to reposition himself right behind the boy in a flash. _"Whoa, not so fast, kid! You don't wanna miss out on what could very well be the best deal you'll ever make, do ya?"_

"W-what?" Dipper asked, not having the context to really know what the demon was talking about.

"Hey!" Gideon shouted in sudden outrage as he sent Bill an appalled glare. "I was the one who summoned you here, Bill! I thought you were gonna make a deal with _me_!"

" _Oh, yeah, I_ was _gonna do that,"_ Bill shrugged nonchalantly. _"Until a much_ _ **better**_ _alternative came along."_ The demon's tone dropped low and sinister as he pointed his cane over at Dipper, who was still completely lost amidst this unknown turn of events. _"So… see ya, Gideon!"_ With another flick of his cane, Bill managed to completely take control of Gideon's amulet, resulting in his own telekinesis being used against him to fling him far away from the Kindergarten crash site and freeing the demon up to get back to business. _"Now, Pine Tree, where were we…?"_

"L-Leave him alone!" Mabel shouted as Bill started circling her brother almost threateningly. The only reason she hadn't ran over to pull Dipper away herself was because of the steady hold Stan had on her arm, keeping her held back just as much as she had been held back the first time he had been stolen away from her seven years ago. Only now, with a threat so much more dangerous and unpredictable as Bill Cipher, her complete inability to do anything to help Dipper felt so, _so_ much worse.

" _So listen up, Pine Tree, cause I don't like to repeat myself,_ " Bill said as casually as ever, ignoring Mabel's fearful cry. _"You may not know this since you've been all blind and buried for so many years, but back on Earth, I'm pretty much the most powerful guy around. Time manipulation, the ability to change anything and anyone with a blink of an eye,_ endless _amounts of magic your feeble human brain couldn't even hope to comprehend, you know, the works! But here on silly old Homeworld, things are a bit… different. This planet's outta my hands, which is something I plan on changing pretty soon, but for now, I kinda can't interact with this place physically without a vessel. So I need a little… help, if ya catch my drift…"_ s on edge as he already was by the dream demon's mere presence alone, Dipper slowly shook his head, finally realizing just how fast his heart was pounding as he tried his hardest to reconcile his complete and utter terror. Still, Bill simply sighed in exasperation and rolling his eye before he explained. _"My drift is this: you let me possess you, let me take the reins and sit in your control seat for a while, so I can finally get rid of what's left of your stupid, annoying family! Heck, since you're so_ un- _Pines compared to all the rest of them, I'll even let you walk away with your life when it's all said and done as my way of saying thanks! Sounds like a pretty good plan, doesn't it, kid?"_

For a moment there were no words that Dipper could find to describe just how absolutely appalled he was by this incredibly gruesome idea. The fact that Bill Cipher, of all the beings in the universe, wanted to use _him_ as a tool to destroy his own family, that he wanted him to _agree_ to let such a thing happen? It was beyond twisted and cruel. In fact, he was so shocked by it that he couldn't even properly express anything but absolute dumbfoundment at it when he finally did manage to respond to it. "I… I don't understand…" he choked, shaking his head once more. "W-why… what makes you think I would _ever_ say yes to something like that?"

" _Why_ wouldn't _you say yes to something like that?"_ Bill retorted calmly. _"Think about this for a sec, Pine Tree. These three?"_ he threw a hand out towards Mabel, Stan, and Ford. _"They let a bunch of Earth squares steal you away when you were only_ 5 years old. _And then what did they do? What did they do while you were beaten and battered almost constantly for weeks on end? What did they do when someone ran a knife over your eyes until you were completely and totally blind? What did they do when you were left for dead in that empty cell for_ seven _years with nothing but a bunch of dumb old rocks and your own pathetic, unfulfilled dreams to keep you company? Oh, that's right! They did_ _ **nothing**_ _!"_

Dipper shuddered at this, hating to admit that every single thing the demon was saying was true but knowing in his heart that it was. He had languished, suffered, hoped in vain for so long that they would come for him, but they never did until after all the hope he had left in him had long since died. And even then, they had only managed to stumble upon him on accident. Stan and Ford had even said so themselves that they had stopped looking for him only a year after his disappearance. This was something he had thought about frequently, ever since he had been set free, and every time he did, it only made him ache with the belief that his own family had cared so very little about him that they had just given up on him completely. And really, it was a large part of the reason he had already given up on them.

" _Really, kid, it only makes sense,"_ Bill continued, fighting rationality upon seeing that his manipulation was seemingly working. _"I mean, you don't even wanna be part of their family anymore anyway, so why not just do yourself a favor and lighten this whole 'rebellious legacy' load off your shoulders? At least then, you wouldn't have to keep running away all the time."_

"Dipper! Don't listen to him! Please" Mabel cried once again, pulling against Stan's grip, though it held fest, lest she break free and throw herself into the same danger her brother was in.

"Seriously, kid, he's lying to you!" Stan shouted adamantly, wanting to believe that, despite all of the abuse he had been through in his young life, that his nephew was smarter than this. "You really think he won't off you the second he's through with all of us?! Because that's not how that psychopath works, believe us."

"Stanley's right," Ford agreed, the immense worry in his otherwise tight expression. "Dipper, you can't trust him, he only wants to-"

" _Hey, how about you three butt out for a sec and let Pine Tree decide here?"_ Bill cut their pleas off sharply before turning back to Dipper. _"See what I mean, kid? The only thing they care about is saving their own hides. That's exactly why they never bothered to look for you even ten minutes outside their own backyard. Guess they didn't think you were worth the effort."_

"No, we _did_ think you were worth it, Dipper!" Mabel protested fiercely, though she kept at it as Dipper finally glanced over at her, clear conflict filling his expression. "I never wanted to stop looking for you! I always hoped that you were still alive and out there somewhere and I was _right_. A-and I know you're mad at us for taking so long to find you, but you _can't_ do this. _Please_ , Dipper… I-I can't lose you again, not like this…"

Dipper could still scarcely even think of what to say amidst being pressed on all sides, but for what seemed like ages he kept his frightened, anxious, uncertain gaze on Mabel, who could only meet it with tears after she finished her appeal. She desperately hoped that it would be enough to sway him against such an awful deal, that he'd staunchly turn Bill down and finally come to stand with his family once more. Yet… it really didn't seem to be enough, for instead of keeping his sights on her, he gradually glanced over to Lapis, who had simply been standing along with Steven in tense silence this entire time, neither of them having the faintest clue about what to do to stop this. As Dipper made eye contact with her, the most the blue Gem could do was softly shake her head, her eyes wide with unabridged terror at the thought of losing the boy she had just grown so close to like this. And yet, it was only as Dipper saw that terror that he realized what would happen if he said no to the demon's twisted aspirations. Even if he refused, then Bill would always be able to find someone else, someone much more willing even, like Gideon for instance, to carry out his sadistic plans. And then, none of them, no one on Homeworld at all, would be safe, including his family, including Mabel, including Steven, including Lapis _._ No one would be able to stop the insane demon from doing whatever violent, demented thing he wanted, including destroying anything and anyone who stood in his path of conquest and chaos. If he said no, then there would be no telling what might happen.

Which was exactly why he had to say yes.

" _So, kid, have you made up your mind yet?"_ Bill asked with faux boredom. _"Because I'm a very busy demon, what with ruling my own intergalactic empire and everything, and I haven't got all-""_

"I'll do it," Dipper spoke up, squaring his shoulders and putting on his bravest face as he thought about exactly what this would entail for him. Even so, he had a plan, one that was only really tentative at best and one that would only really lead him to even more suffering than he had already known, but at least this time, it would all be on his own terms.

Needless to say that the reaction to his staunch agreement was intense. Mabel was the first to lash out, finally pulling herself out of Stan's hold as a loud scream of protest tore from her. Lapis wasn't far behind, her wings summoned as she rushed forward, tears forming in her eyes as she hurried to try and stop this deal from going through by any means necessary. Unfortunately, while Bill didn't have much power on Homeworld, he did have enough to erect a blue fiery barrier, one that easily barred Mabel, Lapis, and anyone else from breaking this arrangement while still giving them a front row seat to it all.

" _Yeesh, so much drama with you rebels!"_ Bill rolled his eye caustically. _"I gotta admit, I'll kinda miss that about you chumps… but not for long! So, Pine Tree, are you_ finally _ready to get even for all those long years of abuse and abandonment? Cause if you are, then all it takes is just one simple handshake…"_ At this, the demon held his hand out, blue flames sparking over it as he presented it to Dipper, who simply looked between it and Bill himself with cold acceptance. He was ready for this, whatever it was, he told himself. He had spent seven years in blinded emptiness, how could this be much worse than that?

And yet, he still looked over at the pair who had rushed forth in vain to try and save him, both of them looking to him tearfully and still begging him not to go through with this. His resolve nearly crumbled upon meeting Mabel's miserable expression, but it came back to him when he saw Lapis'. For seven years he had dreamed of nothing but freedom, and now, he was going to give that freedom up, more than likely forever, just to save the two people he was still absolutely certain he cared about.

It was probably the most worthy sacrifice he could think of, if he was perfectly honest with himself.

So, with a deep breath and closed eyes, he took the demon's hand, allowing his own to be pulled down in shake that locked everything in place. And from there, everything seemed to happen all at once.

The very first thing he felt was pain, pain that was so fierce and so intense that it made the anguish of having that knife torn across his eyes feel like a mere scratch by comparison. But as the pain died out, as all his senses died out really, they were replaced with something else, something that seemed to overwhelm every single fiber of his being: power. Or at least he thought it was power, because what it really was was something far beyond what his mortal mind could even begin to comprehend. In fact, the only things he knew of it were that it was rich, strong, tantalizing, chaotic, uncontrollable, and _his_. But it wasn't really. Rather it belonged to the miasmic, sinister, unquestionably insane entity that was quickly flooding his consciousness, splitting it cleanly in half and brutally pushing him aside as it easily took control of _everything_ , all while he was left adrift inside his own completely ravaged mind, desperately trying to recover from the shock of it all before it was too late.  
Mabel let out a tearful gasp as the wall of fire finally fell, allowing her to see that Bill was gone, but Dipper was still there, his eyes still shut and his body rigid and unmoving as she hurried over to him, Lapis following not too far behind. By the time she had almost reached him, however, he started to do something she hadn't been expecting: laugh. As the laughter rose in volume and grew more manic, she realized that it was indeed in Dipper's voice, but at the same time, it was also Bill's. Both voices were completely unified as his laughter rose to triumphant levels, his eyes opening to reveal that one of them was still a natural, normal brown, while the other was sharply slitted against bright, piercing, glowing yellow, telling Mabel only one thing. That the worst had indeed happened. That her brother had been taken away from her yet again, only this time, she would never get him back. That he wasn't even Dipper anymore, that he couldn't be with with someone like Bill running wild and free inside his mind. _Bipper…_ she concluded briefly, the name sounding so very _wrong,_ even inside her own mind. Still, she was so heartbroken by what was happening that she couldn't even allow herself to feel any form of betrayal towards him for what he had just done. Even if that betrayal was something that the newly dubbed "Bipper" was more than happy to remind them all off.

"Ah, now _this_ is more like it!" he exclaimed proudly, his voice still a twisted mix of Bill's and Dipper's, though there was clearly more of a demonic edge to it. "It's been so long since I've needed one of these flesh sacks that I almost forgot what being inside one of them is like! Still, I owe you one for being so nice and compliant about all this, Pine Tree! So," his demented grin grew as he began to lift off the ground, blue flames curling up upon both of his hands as he hovered over his targets with sadistic glee. "What do you say we get started, huh? Oh, that's right! You're probably still trying to pull your measly human mind back together after having so much limitless cosmic power crammed into it all at once! Well then, don't worry, kid! You just sit back, relax and enjoy the show. _I'll_ take it from here…"

Bipper let out another absolutely wild laugh at this, his yellow eye sparking with murderous intent while his flames grew larger as he prepared to rain them down upon his unprepared foes. Stan and Ford and Steven were all absolutely shellshocked by what they were seeing, none of them scarcely able to believe it while Lapis let out a harsh, broken sob at how far Dipper had fallen. But all Mabel could do was reach out to him once more, tears refusing to leave her eyes as she hoped that somehow, _someway_ , this twisted nightmare would finally end, that she'd wake up and he'd be there and they'd be _happy_ again, just like they had been so many years ago.

But of course, no matter how much she reached, it was never to be.

For suddenly, right before Bipper could bring his flames down, they abruptly died out, much to his apparent surprise. "Huh?!" he glanced at his hands in shock, clearly trying to bring the flames back only for him to suddenly go flying back in mid air towards the entrance of the Kindergarten behind him. "Hey! What do you think you're doing, kid?!" He let out a sudden anguished shout at this, his limbs struggling to break free of some kind of invisible bondage as his expression changed from confusion to absolute raw _fury_. "For almost my entire life I've always been somebody's prisoner," he began fiercely, Dipper's voice clearly starting to overpower Bill's. "I practically grew up inside a jail cell I couldn't even _see._ I missed out on _everything_ my life _should_ have been! And even after I _thought_ I was finally free, I didn't even get to enjoy it before your stupid forces came along and captured me all over again! But no more; I'm _through_ with being trapped and tortured everywhere I go! Now it's _your_ turn to be locked away and forgotten, Bill! Let's see how you like it!"

With another harsh shout, he pulled himself back even more, a blue glow igniting around his hands, one that transferred to the rocks surrounding the Kindergarten's tunnel entrance. "Whoa! Wait! P-Pine Tree, stop!" Bipper gasped as the other half of him realized exactly what was about to happen here and fought in vain for control against it. "W-what about your revenge?! This is your one chance to take out your neglectful family and you're completely wasting it just to put _me_ away?! Don't you realize you're doing the exact same thing to yourself!? You've lost it!"

"No," he replied to himself coldly, his expression a resolved glare as he looked to both Lapis and Mabel, finally smiling just the slightest bit as his hand moved to bring the rocks down on his telekinetic command. "I haven't."

"Dipper!" Mabel cried in an absolute panic as the impending cave in began, the rocks falling hard and heavy before him. The Kindergarten itself was closed off completely on the inside, with its one entrance also being its only exit, and Bipper had brazenly, intentionally landed on the wrong side of the momentous pile of rocks. Meaning that once all of them fell, he'd be trapped inside indefinitely, something that Mabel couldn't let happen, but was ultimately completely powerless to stop.

"Augh! Stupid kid!" Bipper shouted in blind rage, his limbs trembling wildly as he desperately tried and failed to wrest back control. "This wasn't the deal! When I take control back from you, I'm gonna make you wish you were never born!" The other half of him simply let out a soft, almost accepting sigh at this, his fury dissipating into calm acceptance of his fate as he closed his eyes, not wanting to see that final look of desperate anguish on Mabel's face as the last of the rocks fell. "Too late," he muttered calmly, mentally preparing himself for the nearly endless internal conflict to come. "I already do."

And just like that, he was gone, the final rock falling as Mabel collapsed to her knees with a broken sob, her hand still held out, just like it always was, for the brother who had just condemned himself to an eternity of imprisoned torment. The brother who had given away every part of himself, including his highly sought after freedom, just to save her life. The brother who would certainly never be able to reach his hand back to her now, even if he wanted to.

* * *

She missed him.

She thought she had missed him before, when she was but a teary-eyed five year old who kept thinking that he'd come home "any minute now". She thought she had missed him after he had taken off on that ship to parts unknown, presumably never to return. But now? Now she missed him so much that it almost physically _hurt_ her. Because now she could go down to the entrance of that Kindergarten at the edge of the sector literally any time she wanted to. Now she could place her hand against that impenetrable rock wall, she could imagine him on the other side of it, wrestling against the demon he had let into his mind with every ounce of resistance he had in him, she could whisper her tearful promises to find a way to help him, no matter how it might take. Promises that were largely more wishes than they were actual promises.

Still it seemed that her and Lapis were really the only ones who were making any kind of effort to do something about Dipper's plight. The Crystal Gems were clueless when it came to a being as tricky and enigmatic as Bill Cipher, the Fusions' Logs offered literally no assistance, and most frustrating to Mabel, Stan and Ford seemed to be very hands off about the whole thing. One night, not too many weeks after Dipper had trapped himself and Bill away, her frustration finally exploded into full on rage as she shouted at her uncles, fiercely demanding why they seemed to be doing nothing to even try to help their own nephew, why they were seeming to be giving up on him all over again. Their rebuttal was that they wanted to help Dipper, they really, really did, but they simply didn't know enough about Bill and the extent of his abilities to do anything that would be safe for the good of Homeworld at large. As it stood, the merciless demon who had single handedly conquered Earth had finally been subdued and sealed away, inside the body of a twelve year old who had locked them both inside a barren Kindergarten, true, but sealed away nonetheless. Which meant that for now at least, the planet was safe.

But that was far from good enough for Mabel.

Despite how much of a failure Lapis' attempts at helping Dipper had been thus far, Mabel couldn't help but admire how hard she was trying. The blue Gem had researched extensively on the mysterious demon, had tried to terraform around the Kindergarten, had even gone as far as to fuse with the brutish Jasper into the massive, merciless Malachite in the hopes of decimating that rock wall, a plan that had only left Lapis with more scars than successes when it was all said and done. And even if none of her ideas were working, Mabel wished that she had even a fraction of the blue Gem's verve, because as things were, she felt so completely _useless_. Dipper had saved all their lives, perhaps even all of Homeworld itself, and what did he get as a reward for his courageous selflessness? Yet another prison for him to rot away in, this time with a cellmate who was the complete and utter embodiment of hatred and chaos itself. And what was she doing to help free him from that prison? _Nothing_ , just as Bill had accused them all of. She was doing nothing to rescue her brother from his horrendous situation, just as she had done nothing to rescue him seven years ago. The truth of it was she was _failing_ him in every sense of the word. Because as much as she _wanted_ to help him, she didn't even know where to start at all. She didn't know how to break that massive stone wall keeping him locked away down. She didn't know how to kick the vicious demon he was currently sharing his body with out. She didn't know how to bring him home once and for all, to get him to finally stay with her, to convince him that they were still a family, no matter how many times they were torn apart.

She didn't know how to help him; which meant that the only thing she could do instead of try was what she had always done: keep reaching out for a hand that never seemed to reach back.

* * *

He could feel it.

Day in and day out, it pounded heavily against the back of the half of his mind he still had some semblance of control over. It coaxed him, _begged_ him to open that door, to let the floodgates go down, to let that rich, endless power now afforded to him just flow through him completely unfettered. To just let go, to end his pointless vigil and let himself finally be _free_ to do whatever he could possibly imagine. The power tugged on his very soul, it seemed, hounding at him to be used, demanding to at least let the other, much more wild and malicious half of his consciousness use it if he wasn't going to.

It absolutely terrified him.

Mostly because it was something that Bill had absolutely no qualms about taunting him with almost constantly as they shared their prison that was his body, which was trapped inside an even larger prison that was the Kindergarten. Fortunately, whatever half of him that was now the demon negated his former need for food, water, or even sleep because the Kindergarten itself was completely desolate and devoid of all signs of life except for him. Even then, he barely felt alive as he sat in once spot, in one of the larger holes in the hollowed out walls he had claimed as his own moments after locking himself away. And there he stated, largely unmoving as he resumed the very same stance of waiting for nothing that he had grown so used to during his first bout of captivity. Only now, he didn't expect to be saved; in all honesty, he didn't _want_ to be saved. Because if he was saved, then so was Bill. And all at once, everything he had thrown his life away from would be worth nothing at all.

Still, even if he had managed to subdue the demon physically, that didn't mean keeping him bound mentally was anything close to a simple task. Every second of every day was a struggle for control, one that he only narrowly managed to maintain the upper hand in. Bill would try almost ceaselessly to escape his ridiculously determined vessel only for Dipper to somehow reign him back in every single time. It didn't take long for the demon to grow desperate, and as he did, so too did his tactics. Even though he had little to no control over their shared body, his still had a potent presence inside their mind, the connection between their consciousnesses being more than enough for him to get his messages across. In his most petty fits of rage, Bill would often press nightmare after nightmare upon Dipper, filling them with the most unspeakable horrors both imaginable and unimaginable, things that would have easily and utterly broken the average human mind upon so much as a first glance. But what the demon underestimated was that he was dealing with a mind that had already been broken by years of untold horrors all their own. And in its place stood a wall of indifference and determination so strong and sturdy that even a being as powerful as Bill himself was having a hard time putting a dent in it.

But that didn't mean he didn't stop trying. Because even if he knew Dipper held little struggle against him, Bill could tell that he was struggling with the immense power they both had access to, though Dipper even moreso now because of his well-maintained control. And while it infuriated the demon to no end that a mere human _child_ was in a better position to use _his_ powers than even he was, Bill knew he could use this struggle to his advantage.

"When are you just gonna _give up_ already, kid?" he asked, their voices still intertwined as they echoed through the otherwise dense silence of the Kindergarten in an almost ethereal way. "We both know you wanna use it, so why don't you? It'd be a way better use of your time than just sitting around here doing nothing all day."

"I think you know exactly why I'm not going to use it," he replied coldly, evenly, just as he always did whenever the demon attempted this, which was very often. "Because if I did, then you'd probably be set free. Which is _not_ something I'm about to let happen now, or ever."

"Geez, well _sorry_ for asking, 'Mr. Warden'. I just couldn't help but notice that its calling to you a bit… stronger than usual… You really sure you don't wanna answer that call? It'd be pretty disappointed if you just left it hanging, you know."

"I don't care. I'm not using it. I don't need it. Now could you just _be quiet_ for a change instead of trying to wear me down, which _isn't_ working by the way. I'm trying to concentrate."

"Aw, what's the matter, Pine Tree? Thinkin' about poor little Shooting Star again? You sure tend to do that a lot, even though I don't get _why_. Honestly, if I were you, I'd be angry at her instead of worried about her like you are. Especially since her life _should_ have been yours."

He flinched at this, his eyes widening somewhat as his brow furrowed in confusion. "W-what do you mean?"

"What, you mean you can't see it? Oh, that's right, you won't let yourself use any of my-or should I say- _our_ powers for some stupid reason. Well if you did, then you'd be able to take a glimpse at any number of alternate realities that split off of our own. And I'm not lying to you when I tell you there's one where Shooting Star was captured that night instead of you. You wanna take a quick peek?"

His heart sank at the very idea of any reality where Mabel went through even half of the pain he had endured. After all, he had been hurt so deeply and so profoundly in so many different ways that he wouldn't wish that kind of anguish upon anyone. Except for Bill maybe. Especially since the demon didn't seem to care about his already quite loud internal protest against this. "Too late! Here ya go, Pine Tree! Enjoy what could have been!"

Dipper gasped as his mind was abruptly whisked away into the dreamscape, allowing him to watch as an inactive observer as an entirely different version of his life played out before him. All at once there he was back on that fateful night seven years ago, where any chance he once had at living a normal life had died right along with his freedom. And yet, instead of the Earth loyalists nabbing him and taking off, they managed to get ahold of Mabel instead. Dipper felt a bitter chill run through him as he watched his younger self reach out for his abducted sister as she disappeared into the night, presumably never to be seen again. A year past, one that he spent in worry as Stan and Ford searched high and low, all the Gems of Crystal Falls lending their aid to try and find Mabel but they never did. Dipper begged, _pleaded_ against his uncles as they finally called off all their search efforts, knowing that any hope of getting her back again was incredibly slim. Yet over time, he began to accept that painful truth as well, as much as it hurt his heart in every conceivable way to think that he'd never see his sister again. And so, as a way of bracing himself against that pain, he forced himself to move on, to keep on living his life, because certainly, that's what Mabel would have wanted.

And so he did. He watched with wonder as his childhood played out in a much better way than it actually had. He lived in warmth, comfort, and peace with Stan and Ford, their care for him immense as they both knew he could have been lost just as easily as Mabel had been. Never once did he want for anything; he was always well fed, well bathed, well rested, and well loved. Stan taught him how to fight while Ford brought him up with all of the scientific knowledge he had in his arsenal. He craved knowledge, thrived in it, sought every opportunity available to him to learn more just to satisfy his curious nature. His days were spent in free, cheerful exploration, Steven often at his side as they ran through the streets and woods of Crystal Falls, building friendships with most of the Gems who lived there and uncovering the mysteries that lay beyond its limits. In time, Lapis showed up to Crystal Falls, just as eager to learn as he was and together in their pursuit of knowledge, they were unstoppable. And they years went by in their quiet way, unfettered in their peacefulness and bliss as he lived his life, embracing every second of it and reveling in the amazingness of the complex, yet beautiful world all around him. A world that he had never gotten to see much of with his own eyes as they had been blinded so long ago. A world that he could have had just as much as Mabel did. A world that he wanted, that he felt robbed of, that he _should_ have had and why didn't he? Why had _he_ been the one who had been taken away? Why had _he_ been the one who suffered through so much senseless torture? Why had _his_ life been stolen away from him before it had even really begun?

And most of all, why couldn't he do anything to change it?

But he could… The tug at the back of his mind reminded him. He could change it if he really wanted to. He could bend time, warp it to his favor, make the clock reverse to the point that he could actually have the peaceful, coveted life that had just played out before him. He had that power now, it was all his. And accessing it would be as easy as simply opening up that door and letting it all flow in.

As he considered opening that door for the first time, somewhere, on the other half of his consciousness, Bill Cipher laughed triumphantly, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before his impressionable young vessel caved completely. And then, there would be _no one_ who could stop him.

* * *

The Kindergarten's implosion could be heard and seen all across Crystal Falls, even as far as the abandoned ship near the lake. The moment they all realized what it was, Stan and Ford had already started setting off, the Crystal Gems hurrying not too far behind. And though she had been ordered to stay behind at the ship with Pacifica and Steven, Mabel refused to simply wait by while her brother suffered any longer. Which was why she raced after them, running across town without a single stop, all the way to the ruined remains of the Kindergarten. And the sight she found there was more than enough to make her blood run completely cold.

There he was, floating high above Stan, Ford, and the Gems trying to stop him, his entire body aglow with blue flames as he let out a dark, malicious laugh. Gone was all the calm control Dipper had had when he had sealed them both away, for though it had taken him months, Bill had finally gotten the control he had been so fervently vying for. Already the demon had taken some of his anger out on his vessel for his lengthy imprisonment, if his bloody nose and chest were any indication, but even so his manner was wild and unrestrained as he rained his vengeance down upon those below without a single sign of hesitance or restraint, triumphantly taunting them all the while.

For a moment, the most Mabel could do was watch all this chaos unfold from her distant vantage point, tears streaming down her cheeks as she felt all sense of waning hope fade away. She knew that Dipper had fought for so hard and for so long to keep Bill at bay, more than likely putting himself through endless amounts of anguish and agony every step of the way. But in the end, his fierce, courageous struggle still hadn't been enough. In the end, the demon had still won, he was still having his long awaited revenge, he was still poised to destroy her entire family, Dipper included.

And after years of doing nothing, that was something that Mabel was not about to let happen.

"Hey!" she shouted, boldly rushing forward into the fray. The moment they realized she was there, Stan and Ford tried everything they could to hold her back, but she pushed past her uncles this time, running right up to her possessed brother, glaring up at him with all of the ferocity and righteous fury she could muster. "Get out of him already, Bill! _Now_!"

"Well, well…" Bipper began with an intrigued grin as he drifted down a bit, Bill still clearly in control as his yellow eye flashed twistedly. "Look who we have here… Glad to see you could make it, Shooting Star! I was thinking I was missing one out of the set, but nope! Guess the family's all here, finally together again! Isn't it just _sweet_?"

"Shut up!" Mabel growled, her hands curled into tight fists at her sides. "I don't know how you beat Dipper back and broke out but that doesn't matter, because you're going to get out of his body and leave all of us alone!"

"Oh yeah?" he asked challengingly. "And what makes you think that? What makes you think I'm _not_ just gonna burn you and your stupid uncles to a crisp before doing the same thing to the rest of this worthless planet?"

"I know you're not gonna do that because somewhere in that body, Dipper's still there, I know it," she retorted, her manner still brazen and resolved. "And I know he would _never_ do that."

"Ha!" he laughed mockingly at this claim. "Then clearly you don't know your own brother that well, kid. He just spent the last several months trying his best to resist using our immense cosmic power, and you wanna know the only reason he finally gave in? So he could take _your_ happy little life away from you so _he_ could have it instead while you'd be tortured and imprisoned for years on end just like he was! You call that selfless? Or noble? Or _heroic_? Cause I sure don't!"

Mabel's determination finally shaken away into shock upon hearing this, her eyes widening as she tried to make sense of what she had just heard. "W-wha… n-no! That… that's not true! H-he wouldn't… you… you're lying!"

"You wish I was, kid," he scoffed coldly. "But go ahead and tell her, Pine Tree! Tell her all about how you were ready and willing to roll back time and flip your fates around! I'm sure she'd _love_ to hear about how much you _don't_ care about her!" A gasp escaped him, tears starting to well up in his eyes as his other half was finally allowed some control. Guilt was written all over his expression as he looked down at her, telling her all that she needed to know that the demon had, against all odds, been telling the truth. "M-Mabel… I… I didn't… I was just… I never wanted you to-" He let out a sharp cry of anguish as control was viciously ripped away from him again, his remorse turning into a smug grin. "See, Shooting Star? He can't even bring himself to deny it because it's _true_! He was gonna throw you under the bus just so he could take everything you've ever known and loved for himself! Some brother he turned out to be, huh?"

Mabel said nothing for a moment, a few tears finally escaping her as she thought about just how _horrible_ it all was. It was true: Dipper really _had_ wanted to swap their fates around, to put himself in her peaceful place while she took his own horrific one. He had gone through so much agony in his life that she couldn't even begin to _imagine_ going through all of that herself, much less somehow surviving it like he had. And yet… for as terrible as this truth was… she still couldn't find it in her to be angry at him like Bill clearly wanted her to be. She couldn't be, no matter how hard she tried, because when it came right down to it, he had every single right to feel that way. He had been beaten, blinded, abandoned, brutalized, and yet in the end, in that deciding moment when he had been given a chance to exact his revenge against the family that had wronged him, he _hadn't_. Instead, he had turned the tables, trapping both himself and Bill away and remaining strong in his vigil for as long as he had been able to hold out. He had saved them all, even when he really hadn't been obligated to, even when he could have saved himself so much more easily. And in Mabel's eyes, that selfless, sacrificial act far outweighed whatever small, overall insignificant moment of selfishness that had led him here.

"D-Dipper… I… You… W-what happened to you was… it was _so_ unfair…" Mabel began waveringly, desperation in her eyes as she looked up at him tearfully, hoping that her brother could hear her beyond the demon controlling his body. "I haven't stopped thinking about how unfair it all was from the minute we first found you in that cell… Pretty much every day I ask myself why all this happened to _you_ instead of me. B-because if I could have, then I definitely would have swapped places with you in a heartbeat. You _didn't_ deserve what you went through. You were just a _kid_ , we both were. Heck, we still are. And its so _wrong_ that you're the one who has to keep going through all these terrible things because… b-because of me… So… if you wanted to switch our lives around, or, heck, even if you wanted to just get rid of me altogether… t-then… then I'd understand that… Because you deserve so much _better_ than what you got… You always have… and you always will…"

Bipper scoffed haughtily at this attempt at an appeal, his eyes rolling as he began buffering it off. "Oh give me a _break_ , Shooting Star. Like any of your schmaltzy apologies are actually gonna-" He suddenly trailed off, his tears returning as sadden sincerity filled his expression. "M-Mabel, no… I… I never… I _don't_ want to change things around like that… I thought I did, b-but… but I was wrong… It's true, my life has pretty much been… well, the _worst_ , but I'd never _, ever_ wish any of that on you… I just… I… The only thing I want is for all of this to finally _end_ …"

"And it can," Mabel smiled warmly, reaching her hand out to him once more. "You're stronger than Bill is, Dipper, I know you are. You held out for so long now that you're practically a pro at handling crazy murderous demons! And you wanna know why I know that? Because you're my brother; and fighting back and being totally awesome is something that runs in our family, whether you like it or not."

He let out a small, genuine laugh at this, and Mabel felt her heart begin to soar as, for the first time in years, he began to reach his hand back to meet hers. Yet before they could connect, it was stopped once again, this time by his other hand as a fierce struggle for control again. "N-no! Don't listen to her! I'm not about to let a bunch of sentimental family garbage ruin _everything_ I've worked so hard for!" His other half resisted fiercely though, pulling past this restraint as he continued reaching out for Mabel, his hope finally returning to him after years and years of it being gone. "Well I'm not about to let you or _anything_ else keep me away from my sister anymore! So face it, Bill. This is over. And you've _lost_!"

And with that, their hands finally connected, years and years of separation and grief ending in one moment of sheer love and triumph. The demon let out a wild screech of defeat as suddenly, without any warning of all, he was shoved straight out of his longtime vessel, back into his triangular form as he shot back into the open air. As Stan, Ford, and the Gems hurried after Bill and eventually forced him to retreat, the blue glow surrounding Dipper faded, his shared power gone as his eyes closed and he collapsed right into Mabel's arms. She held onto him tightly, mostly out of fear that he'd be taken from her again if she ever let him go, as he trembled uncontrollably, his body and mind both in shock over just how much it had been through over the past few seemingly endless months. But even so, she was there for him, rubbing a hand over his back gently in an attempt to soothe him as she whispered gentle reassurances to him all the while.

"It's ok, bro-bro," she said softly, ignoring everything else going on around her as she reserved her attention solely for him. "Everything's gonna be alright… it's over now… You're safe… you're _free_ … And that's exactly how you're gonna be from here on out… I promise…"

Dipper said nothing in response to any of this, mostly because his mind was still struggling to pull its ruined parts together again as it recovered from Bill's incredibly toxic presence within it. But even so, he showed his appreciation for her comfort by slowly, shakily lifting his arms to return her embrace as he buried his face into her shoulder, knowing that this was perhaps the first time in seven years that he truly felt like he was no longer alone.

And even though tears were still running down her cheeks through it all, Mabel couldn't help but smile, joy unlike any she had ever experienced before flooding her every sense. Because for the first time in seven years, through pain and scars and grief and guilt and everything else, he had reached out to her once more. Even if time couldn't take back any of the things that had kept them apart in the past, they were finally together again.

And for both of the Pines twins, this was more than enough.

* * *

 **AUGH ANGST But yeah this broke me to write. I only cranked this out in three days due to how pumped I was about it because putting Dipper in Lapis' role is sad enough as it is but showing Mabel's reactions to that only made it all SO MUCH SADDER! Still, I'm glad to be posting another oneshot to this collection, though hopefully the next one I do won't be so dang sad (I have something for both Swap and Water Mom in the works, so I'm bound to finish one of them eventually). But for now PLEASE let me know what you thought about all this angst in the REVIEWS! Until next time (which will probs be on the next chapter of UF but whatever)**


	3. UF Drabbles Collection 1

_Ok, so before we get started, I should probably explain what the heck this is. I've decided to start using this story to not just post complete random oneshots, but to also post all the little drabbles I do over on my tumblr (MiniJenn if you wanna go find and follow me, its pretty much my UF stomping grounds) here so you guys can read them! So most of these were prompts people suggested to me whenever I decide to open prompts, and this first set is sorta the basic starter grounded in UF itself set, though I'll be posting more of these from other AUs and stuff. Before each of these indivdual drabbles, I'll be sure to give a tiny bit of context, including the prompt itself I worked off of. So hopefully this won't be too confusing... Anyway, with all that explaining out of the way, enjoy!_

* * *

 _Prompt: "Do you think we're bad people?"  
Characters: Dipper and Steven  
Setting: Some post-The Last Mabelcorn angst, might be spoilery for some later parts of UF *shrugs* _

Dipper jolted a bit upon hearing this question, especially since it had come from Steven, of _all_ people. He was already on edge after everything Ford had told them, but this, oddly enough, was the thing that caught him completely off guard. "W-what do you mean?" he asked, glancing over at the clearly fretful young Gem.

Steven let out a small sigh, rubbing his arm as he looked to the side. "I mean… keeping this whole rift thing a secret from everyone… I know Mr. Ford said it was really important and really dangerous but… I'm not so sure if lying to everybody about it is the right thing to do…"

"Steven, we're not lying to everyone about it," Dipper corrected, even if he couldn't really ignore the guilty pit forming in his stomach as the young Gem brought this moral matter up. "We're just… not telling them about it."

"Is there really a difference?" Steven asked, his expression anxious and upset. "Look, I'm just thinking that m-maybe the Gems should know about this. I mean, the last time we tried keeping a secret from them was with the journal, and they nearly destroyed it because they didn't know what it was! What if the same thing happens with the rift?"

"I-it won't," Dipper shook his head, though the doubt in his tone was clear enough. "Something like that isn't going to happen, because they're _not_ going to find out about it. Besides, if Great Uncle Ford had wanted them to know about the rift, then he probably would have told them before telling either of us."

The young Gem sighed once more, his frown showing just how unhappy he was with this whole situation. "I just think we shouldn't be keeping anymore secrets from them. I mean, the kind of secrets Mom kept from them pretty much turned _everything_ upside down for all three of them when they found out. They don't deserve to have that happen to them again because of us…"

Dipper shifted somewhat uncomfortably upon hearing this, knowing that Steven was absolutely right. The Gems _did_ deserve to know about the rift; perhaps if they did, then they could help keep it safe from Bill or from anyone else who might want it for the wrong reasons. But at the same time, them knowing of it could very well turn into a liability, one that they couldn't really afford in a delicate situation such as this. Which was why Dipper figured it was much safer to just remain silent about the whole thing, just as he had with the journal at the summer's start. Certainly, Ford was correct about its secrecy ensuring everyone's safety; he _was_ the author of the journals, after all. "Well, then I guess we'll just have to make sure they _don't_ find out," he concluded as confidently as he could.

Steven bit his lip at this, somewhat surprised at just how nonchalant Dipper seemed to be over the whole matter when he was fraught with worry over it all. He wasn't really able to clearly articulate why, but something about lying to not just the Gems, but to Mabel, to Stan, to Connie, to _everyone_ else they knew about something that could very well endanger them all seemed so incredibly _wrong._ Almost as if not telling them about it was just as grave and foreboding as not telling them. True, the Gems kept many secrets from him in the past, but to do the same to them? Steven could hardly leave such a thought behind without feeling like he was doing something iniquitous, something duplicitous.

Something that was undeniably, unquestionably bad.

Still, it was clear that, at least for the time being, he was two against one in the matter. Which was why all the young Gem could do was square his shoulders and take in a deep breath, hoping that this unwanted secrecy wouldn't lead to untold disaster somewhere down the line. "Yeah, I-I… I guess we will…"

* * *

 _Prompt: "I tried my best to not feel anything for you. Guess what? I failed."  
Characters: Steven and Mabel  
Setting: Meh mostly a hypothetical thing right here, has some one-sided Steven/Mabel in it_

The moment the unexpected revelation of infatuation connected through to both of their halves, Maven instantly split apart, Steven and Mabel awkwardly falling apart from each other as both of them gasped in shock. Still, both of them were blushing profusely as they glanced away from each other, completely flustered, though for entirely different reasons.

"M-Mabel, I-I…" Steven trailed off, his eyes wide with alarm as he finally looked over at her. Mabel refused to meet him halfway with this though, as she instead stared at the ground, a hand covering her mouth as she secretly wished she could disappear completely. After all, literally _anything_ would be better than having to finally confront this. "I… never knew you felt like… well, _that_ …"

Mabel let out a small, mortified whine as she buried her face into the collar of her sweater, closing her eyes tightly so she wouldn't have to see the young Gem's expression, regardless of what it might be. Steven slowly stood as he noticed just how embarrassed she was, unsure of what to even say at a moment like this. So instead, he simply decided to awkwardly restate the obvious. "So… uh, you… y-you have a crush… on me?"

Knowing that denying it was futile now, Mabel simply nodded with a small whimper, burrowing herself deeper into her sweater in the hopes that Steven would just let this go. But of course, his eternal need to help other people feel better refused to let him. "Uh… Wow… To be honest, I-I really don't know what to say. I'm… flattered, I guess. But I don't-"

"You don't feel the same way, I know…" Mabel mumbled, her mouth still covered by her sweater as she tried to fight back tears. "Which is why this whole thing is so… so _stupid_! I knew you didn't like me in the same way I like you, but I just kept crushing on you anyway! And now you know about it and everything's all weird and awkward and _ugh_! This is the _worst_!"

"Wha—b-but I-" Steven cut himself off, unable to refute that this was a rather awkward situation, but still, he intended on doing everything he could to reassure her. "Look, Mabel, I-I… you really shouldn't feel so bad about this. It's not-"

"No, I _should_ feel bad!" Mabel finally looked to him intently, clearly frustrated with herself more than anyone else. "I _knew_ you and Connie had a thing for each other, and I was fine with that, until we fused for the first time and then everything just… changed! I guess it's just my luck that the only guy I've ever _really_ been in love with isn't just one of my best friends but he's also already taken by another one of my best friends! I tried my best not to feel anything for you, but guess what? I failed! And now you probably hate me, or think I'm weird, or-"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, Mabel!" Steven interjected, determined to set the record straight. "I don't hate you! I could never hate you! You're one of my best friends too!"

"Yeah, and that's just the problem…" Mabel sighed dejectedly. "We're _friends_ … Only now we won't even be able to be that anymore because you know about my crush on you, a-and everything's gonna be different between us now and not in the good way and it'll be all my fault and-"

"Who says things have to be different?" Steven asked earnestly before letting out a small, sympathetic sigh as he sat down beside her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "So, yeah, you have a crush on me, even though me and Connie are starting to… well, you know. But that doesn't mean we all still can't be friends!"

"I-It doesn't?" Mabel asked, both confused and surprised by this.

Steven smiled as he shook his head, extending a hand out to her to help her up. "No, it doesn't. Because you, me, Connie, and Dipper are the Mystery Kids! And no amount of awkwardness can ever change that!"

Try as she might, Mabel was unable to hide her bright red blush as she looked between the young Gem and the hand he was holding out to her. All at once, she was reminded of all of the reasons why she was attracted to him: his bright smile, his kind words, the way he always managed to raise her spirits when they were at their lowest. A part of her had always known, from the very moment feelings for him had first bloomed inside her heart, that they would never be together in the way she wanted them to. And with that depressing realization came the fear of ever letting him know about her feelings at all. But now that he did know, now that everything was clear and out in the open, not only was she quite surprised by his calm, understanding reaction, but she was also immensely relieved. True, deep down she would likely always harbor some form of unrequited affection towards him; but for now, simply knowing that their deep, meaningful friendship, something she treasured even more than her own infatuation, was more than enough for her.

"You're right," Mabel finally smiled, taking Steven's hand as he helped her stand. "It can't."

* * *

 _Prompt: The heroes' reaction to Lapis wanting to hunt down Bill.  
Characters: Lapis, Dipper, Ford  
Setting: Probably sometime after the UF version of Alone at Sea, idk, mostly some angsty stuff with a lil fluff at the end_

Lapis let out a deep breath, her expression tight in unreadable contemplation as Mabel and Steven finished telling her the full story. As a heavy silence filled the barn, the blue Gem did briefly shift her gaze over to Dipper, who had been leaning against the entryway the entire time, silent and sullen and clearly wanting no parts of recounting his own traumatic experience at the hands of the sadistic dream demon. And after a moment of taking it all in, Lapis was quick to realize that she was going to have no parts in simply accepting it. "We have to go after him," she said, her tone rigid as she rose to stand.

This bold statement alone was enough to stun Steven and Mabel into silence as they exchanged a bewildered glance, but no one was more surprised by the blue Gem's resolve than Dipper. "What?" he finally spoke up, looking to Lapis incredulously.

"You heard me," she said, her tone cold as she walked over to him. "I want to go hunt down that… that monster and make him pay for what he did to you!"

For a moment, Dipper couldn't even think of anything to say to this ambitious plan, but when he did respond to it, he already showed initial hesitation towards it. "Lapis… I… I don't-"

"Now, hold on just a minute!" Ford interrupted as he rushed into the barn with Peridot trailing not too far behind him. Though the pair had been working on an experiment outside, but due to their close proximity to the barn, they had been able to eavesdrop on most of the conversation well enough. And while Ford hadn't wanted to get involved earlier, considering the nature of it all, he had no choice but to intervene now. "Lapis, please tell me you aren't serious. Going up against Bill by yourself would be a suicide mission, even for a Gem as powerful as you! Believe me, I would know; I've been at it for years myself."

"I don't care!" Lapis argued fiercely, placing a firm hand on Dipper's shoulder. "Steven and Mabel told me everything! They told me how this Bull guy tricked Dipper and forced him out of his own body! They said he nearly ended up hurting all three of the kids. Who knows, maybe he would ended up _killing_ all of them if they hadn't stopped him!"

"Lapis?" Dipper attempted to interrupt, but the blue Gem went on regardless.

"And even now, Dipper's still hurting from it all," Lapis seethed, her grip on his shoulders tightening protectively. "And I know what that feels like! It's _awful_. I wouldn't wish for _anyone_ to feel like that, especially not him."

"Lapis-" Dipper tried again, only to be cut off by Ford this time.

"I understand that," the author said, his tone as level as it could be. "Believe me, I do. But I also understand that you'll never make any headway against a being like Bill by being reckless and rash. You would need some kind of strategy or plan to deal with him, and even then I wouldn't recommend it. It's just too dangerous!"

"So what if it is?!" the blue Gem retorted adamantly. "I'm more than willing to do whatever it takes to put that demon in his place! I wasn't there to protect Dipper from him before, but I'm going to protect him now, no matter what I have to do! And from the looks of it, _I'm_ the only one who feels that way!"

"Lapis!" Dipper finally cut in before Ford could even offer a heated response. Both the blue Gem and the author were silent as they looked to him, quite surprised at just how upset he seemed to be. "Look," Dipper began again, letting out a long, tired sigh as he shoved his hands into his vest pockets. "Lapis, I'm like, super touched that you want to go after Bill just for me, but… you can't."

"What? Why not?" Lapis asked, her expression still bitter as she raised an eyebrow at him.

Dipper simply shook his head, his tone intent and earnest as he decided to give the blue Gem the truth. After all, if there was anything that they two of them had always been with each other, it was honest. "Because… because I don't want you to! If you were right about one thing, it was that we all could have gotten really hurt because of Bill. And if any of us had gotten hurt… then it would have been all _my_ fault since _I_ was the one dumb enough to make a deal with him!"

"Dipper, come on," Mabel spoke up with a concerned frown. "We've been over this like, a thousand times. What happened wasn't-"

"It _was_ my fault," Dipper asserted, still clearly ashamed over the matter as he glanced away guiltily. "And Lapis, if you went after him and he did something to you, then that would be my fault too. And… I… I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself if that happened…"

Lapis' building fury seemed to completely melt away upon hearing this, her expression gentle yet crestfallen as she essentially tried to fight back tears. "Oh, Dipper…" she said, voice but a whisper as she knelt down and wrapped him into a tight, protective embrace, one that he weakly returned. "I'm so sorry… I couldn't have—I didn't know you felt like… like that…"

"It's ok…" Dipper mumbled, even though it really wasn't. "I guess we'll just… have think of some other way to get rid of Bill once and for all. Something better than just trying to trying to hunt him down without a plan or anything."

"Right," Lapis agreed with a small, weary, yet hopeful smile, one that soon enough spread to Dipper as well. "Something better…"

* * *

 _Drabble: Do you trust me?  
Characters: Dipper and Pacifica  
Setting: Meh after like, arc 8? Chock full of that good old Dipper/Pacifica goodness_

"Do I what?"

"Trust me," Pacifica reiterated with a sigh, reclining back to lie down on the couch with her head resting on her boyfriend's lap. "Like, _really_ trust me. And don't just say what you think I want to hear; I want the _truth_ , Dipper."

"Ok… well, first can I ask why you're suddenly so concerned about my trusting you?" Dipper asked, clearly quite confused by this random like of questioning. "You're not trying to rope me into some kind of crazy, life-threatening stunt, are you?"

"What? No," Pacifica scoffed, rolling her eyes at his attempt at joking. "It's just… I've been thinking… about what happened at the party…"

"Again?" Dipper asked with newfound concern, knowing that this was a particularly sore subject for her.

"Yeah… Guess it was sort of an eye opener in more ways than one…" she admitted, glancing up at him before quickly looking away. "It made me realize just how messed up my family really is, how the only reason we made it to the top was because we lied and cheated our way there. And up until a few weeks ago, my parents were basically conditioning me to be _ok_ with all of that. If you hadn't came along, then… I would have turned out just like them: _terrible_. And honestly, I-I'm kind of afraid I'll still turn out like that… no matter how hard I try to be different…"

"Oh, Pacifica…" Dipper began with sincere sympathy. "How many times have I told you? You're _way_ better than the rest of your family! You're not a liar or a cheater. You actually care about other people and you are making a genuine effort at trying to be less, you know… stuck up."

"Yeah, that's just it, I'm _trying_ ," Pacifica sighed as she sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. "I'm not there yet. And at this rate, I'm not sure I'll ever get there. That's why I'd totally get it if you still didn't trust me all the way yet. You know how bad my family is just as much as I do. And if I were you, I'd have a few doubts about trusting me too…"

"Well, I don't," Dipper readily reassured, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I _do_ trust you, Pacifica. Do you really think we'd be dating if I didn't?"

"I… I guess not…" the heiress muttered, her voice still small. "But… why? Why would you just… trust me, even though you know what I came from?"

"Because you earned it," Dipper said with a small, comforting smile. "You showed me just how wrong I was about you, in all the best ways! You act like I'm the one who helped you become a better person, but as far as I'm concerned, you already were better than the rest of your family, way before I ever came along. You just needed someone to give you the right… motivation."

"Pfft, sure, 'motivation'," Pacifica finally chuckled, perking up a bit as she gave her boyfriend a playful push. "Still, I guess I do owe you for that motivation, so…" She trailed off, her smile growing before she caught Dipper off guard with an unexpected, but very welcome kiss, one that didn't last nearly long enough. "Consider that my way of saying thanks."

"O-ok then…" Dipper blinked, shaking off his surprise before taking up a mischievous grin himself, one that was only the prelude to yet another kiss. "But only if you take this as my way of saying you're welcome."

"Oh, gladly," Pacifica laughed as he pulled her back in, any doubts of the complete and utter trust between them completely forgotten as their lips touched once more.

* * *

 _Prompt: Dipper and Mabel babysitting Onion.  
Characters: Dipper, Mabel, Onion, Stan, Vidalia  
Setting: Meh could be anytime in UF, mostly just some humorous fluff_

"Wait, so you want us to do… what exactly?" Dipper asked as him and Mabel exchanged a bewildered glance.

"Look, all I want you two to do is keep an eye on Vidalia's little ankle-biter for me," Stan explained, pushing Onion towards the twins. "She's paying me good money to watch the kid for the day while she's at some sort of 'artist retreat', but since I have tours to give, I can't. So I figured I'd just pawn him off on you two for a few hours while I work. You think you can handle him or not? Cause if you can't I'll just ask Soos instead."

"That depends," Dipper deadpanned, crossing his arms. "Do you think you can give us most of the money Vidalia's paying you for watching Onion since we've going to be doing _most_ of the work?"

"Pfft, are you kidding me?" the conman scoffed. "You kids would be lucky if I even decided to give you a tenth of what she's giving me."

"Well how about a fifth?" Mabel suggested with a blithe smile.

"Please. More like a seventh."

"A fourth!"

"I'll settle for a fifth."

"A third!"

"Yeah right. A fourth."

"Half!"

"Ok, ok, it's a deal!" Stan caved in to his niece's persistent form of haggling. "Wait… what just happened?"

"Who cares? You agreed to half which means no take backsies!" Mabel exclaimed cheerfully.

"Fine, I'll give you two half of the money for watching the little freak…" the conman's scowl turned into a sly smirk as he turned to head back to the gift shop. "And it looks like you're off to a pretty good start, seeing as how the kid is already missing!"

The twins gasped in surprise upon taking a cursory glance around the den to see that Onion had managed to slip away during the conversation and was nowhere to be found. "Split up?" Dipper suggested stiffly.

"Split up," Mabel readily agreed as they did just that to try and find Onion.

Of course, it took them over an hour to do so, and when they did, they managed to secret him away from his hiding spot behind the sascrotch in the museum without Stan noticing. Like always, Onion remained characteristically silent, even as the twins brought him back into the den and tried to ensure that he would stay put.

"Ok, Onion," Mabel began with a wide, friendly smile as she sat before the young boy. "Today you're gonna hang out with me and Dipper and we're all gonna have a totally _great_ time! So, what kind of fun things do you like to do that we can all enjoy together?"

Of course, Onion offered no real response aside from his usual blank, mysterious stare, much to the twins' shared discomfort. "Uh, maybe we should call Steven," Dipper whispered to Mabel. "He does know Onion better than either of us do. He might be able to help us out at least a little."

"But Steven's gonna be gone with the Gems all day," Mabel pointed out. "Besides, bro-bro, we so got this! I mean, he's just one little kid. What's the worst that could happen?"

Vidalia showed up to the shack at 6 o'clock sharp, just as she had told Stan she would when dropping Onion off earlier. The conman was more than prepared for her arrival, of course, even if he had barely even watched the young boy at all and had instead pawned him off on his nibblings. But all the same, he greeted the artist with a broad smile as she knocked on the door to retrieve her son.

"Hey, there's my favorite V!" Stan exclaimed brightly as he let Vidalia inside the shack. "How was that… thing you were at all day?"

"You mean the artist's retreat?" Vidalia raised an eyebrow. "It was fine. But enough small talk, Stan. I'm just here to make sure you didn't force my kid to work for free all day. You know, I would have asked Greg to watch Onion today, but since he's down and out with food poisoning, unfortunately you were my only other option."

"Hey, what makes you think I'm bad with kids?" the conman asked defensively. "I've managed to keep my niece and nephew alive and mostly uninjured all summer, haven't I?"

"Yeah, through either some miracle or dumb luck," the artist teased with a wry smirk as they made it to the den. "But uh… speaking of keeping things mostly unharmed…" She trailed off as she pointed Stan's gaze towards the living room, which, to put it bluntly, was a complete disaster. The walls were covered in crayon scribbles, the furniture lay strewn everywhere and somehow even one of the support beams on the ceiling had broken and was precariously hanging from above. Yet despite all this, both the twins and Onion were relatively fine, with the latter innocently coloring (on paper this time) while the former pair rested back to back, completely exhausted from the harrowing day they had just been through.

"Kids!" Stan growled hotly upon seeing the mess in his den. "I thought I told you two to watch the little—" the conman quickly cut himself off as the artist gave him a suspicious glance. "I-I mean, uh… what the heck happened in here?!"

"Do you want the long version? Or the _really_ long version?" Dipper asked, aptly exasperated.

"Cause both versions are pretty much the same amount of crazy…" Mabel admitted, just as tiredly.

"So, it looks like my little troublemaker gave you two quite the runaround, huh?" Vidalia asked the twins as Onion ran to her and jumped into her arms. "Don't worry, this sort of thing is totally normal. Heck, he nearly set his last babysitter's house on fire."

The twins exchanged a look of disturbed disbelief upon hearing this, but even so, they said nothing to it as they leaned against each other again with a shared tired sigh.

"So, how about that babysitting fee, huh, V?" Stan asked, holding his hand out expectantly. "I mean, I did do what you said and made sure the kid didn't impale himself or anything. So pay up."

"Oh, sure, I'll pay up, Stan," Vidalia smirked as she reached into her purse and pulled out four $20 bills. "But not to you."

"Huh?" the conman blinked in confusion and dismay as he watched the artist hand the money over to the twins instead. "Hey!"

"Here you go, kids," Vidalia said with a sly wink. "I have a feeling you two did most of the heavy lifting with Onion today anyway, so you deserve it."

"Whoa… $40?!" Dipper exclaimed, looking to the money split between them in amazed disbelief.

"Thanks, Vidalia!" Mabel exclaimed excitedly.

"Hey, thank _you_ for taking care of my little man," the artist shrugged as she prepared to leave. "Say goodbye to your new friends, Onion."

Of course, Onion didn't do so verbally, but he did give the twins a small, brief smile all the same, one that they couldn't help but weakly return as Vidalia started carrying him out.

"W-wait!" Stan exclaimed as he ran out after her. "C'mon, V, you gotta give me _something_! I mean, I may not have really 'watched' your kid, _persay_ , but I was still around to supervise Dipper and Mabel while they did! Wait! V!"

With the conman and the artist both gone, all the twins could really do in the aftermath of getting their hard-earned money was exchange another a round of complacent smiles, both of them still completely exhausted nonetheless. "You know, $40 is a lot of money as far as babysitting goes," Dipper pointed out.

"Yeah, it is…" Mabel nodded in agreement, grinning as she looked over her cash. "But was it worth… well, all this?"

"No, not even close," Dipper replied immediately, getting a brief laugh out of both of the twins. "But seriously though, this so wasn't worth it."

* * *

 _Prompt: I haven't seen you in ages!  
Characters: Maven, Dipper, Connie  
Setting: Probs sometime after Together Forever, of course, just a little throwback to that chapter in a way_

"Uh, you guys both literally just saw us seconds ago," Dipper pointed out dryly. "You know, before you fused?"

"Well, yeah, but I mean _I_ haven't seen you guys in ages!" Maven quipped, twirling blithely. "I wasn't talking about Steven or Mabel, silly! I was talking about _me:_ Maven!"

"There's… a difference?" Connie asked, somewhat confused.

"Uh, duh!" Maven exclaimed as though it was obvious. "Well… at least I think there is… hm…"

"Uh… Steven? Mabel?" Dipper spoke up, though the fusion was quick to correct him.

"Uh, uh, uh!" they waved a finger with a sly smirk. "Get it right, Dipper. It's _Maven_ , remember?"

"Right…" Dipper frowned, still finding it rather odd to refer to them under a combined name like that. "Maven. This isn't going to be anything like… the last time you were… around, is it?"

Maven's nearly constant smile faded a bit upon hearing this as they looked down at the pair before them. "Uh… no," they shrugged, trying to be as casually as possible.

"Are you sure?" Connie pressed, concerned. "Because… you guys kind of got a little… carried away last time. No offense."

"Aw, none taken," Maven said with a wave of their hand. "But seriously, don't worry, you guys. We've _totally_ got it under control this time."

"Really?" Dipper asked, wanting to make sure.

"Really," Maven nodded with an assuring grin. "Now, who wants to go have some fusion fun with yours truly?"

"Uh, wouldn't you guys be the only ones having _fusion_ fun since you're the only ones fused?" Connie asked with a frown.

"Hm. Maybe!" Maven shrugged, clearly not worried at all. "I guess we'll have to go find out!"

* * *

 _Prompt: I'm so in love with you. + Shut up and kiss me already.  
Characters: Dipper and Pacifica  
Setting: Just some very short Dipifica fluff, super cute stuff_

The couple's ongoing warm laughter abruptly died out at this, with Dipper starkly sitting up, his cheeks bright red with embarrassment over what he had just blurted out so candidly.

"Uh… what did you just say?" Pacifica asked, her eyes quite wide as she also sat up beside him.

"N-nothing! I didn't say anything!" Dipper protested, incredibly flustered as he averted her gaze. "A-and even if I had, it wouldn't have been some huge random outburst about my feelings for you because that'd be really awkward, and dumb, and out of nowhere, and-"

"Dipper?"

"Y-yeah…?"

Pacifica smirked knowingly, placing a gentle hand against his still blushing cheek as she began to draw in close to him. "Just shut up and kiss me already," she mused smoothly, issuing one more whispered request before their lips touched, one that he would be more than happy to comply it. "And when we're done, say it again."

And so he did.

* * *

 _Prompts: Put your hands where I can see them!  
Characters: Stepper and Mabel  
Setting: Meh after Forever Alone, this is mostly just fluff again_

"And all four of them too!" Mabel exclaimed, barreling into the fusion with a playful embrace.

Stepper let out an amused laugh that was short lived as he stumbled forward a bit, his usual lack of balance quite apparent. "What is this?" he asked, amused as Mabel continued to cling onto his leg. "A stickup or something?"

"Yeah!" Mabel grinned mischievously, looking up at him. "I"m the fusion police! And I'm here to arrest any and all fusions made up of my brother/best friend! And you're the only one around here who fits that description, mister!"

"Oh really?" Stepper asked with another small laugh, more than ready to play along. "Well then, I guess you got us! So what happens now that I'm 'under arrest'?"

"That's easy," Mabel finally released her hold on Stepper's leg and crossed her arms. "Now you gotta go to _fusion_ _jail_."

"Fusion jail, huh?" Stepper placed his bottom set of hands on his hips. "Well, I guess we don't really have any other choice… That is if you can catch us!"

"Wha-" Mabel gasped as the fusion took off, his speed far outweighing hers thanks to his much longer legs. "Hey! Get back here you outlaws!"

"Never!" Stepper called back with a laugh. However, as he turned to glance back at her, he failed to notice the rock in his path until he tripped right over it, ultimately resulting in him tumbling to the ground. Mabel burst out laughing as she rushed over to him, locking her arms around his neck as she leapt onto his back and stayed there.

"Aha! Gotcha!" she declared over Stepper's loud, breathless laughter. "Just try running away this time, you two!"

"I really don't think we can," the fusion smirked, shrugging in defeat. "So it looks like you win. This time, at least."

* * *

 _Prompt: When the hell did you break the vacuum?  
Characters: Stan and Peridot  
Setting: After Catch and Release but before the barn arc kicks off_

Peridot let out a snide scoff as she rolled her eyes, tinkering around with the collection of mechanical parts that littered the living room floor. "Please, I didn't _break_ your dirt collecting machine. I _improved_ it."

"Yeah, you 'improved' it, alright," Stan retorted dryly. "You fixed it up so much that it won't even start anymore." He flicked the switch on and off, only for the vacuum to remain unresponsive.

"Well, that's because you're trying to power it on using the wrong switch," the green Gem huffed, getting up and walking over to the vacuum. "To activate it, you have to input the correct code on this keypad here."

"You mean the calculator you stapled to it?" the conman asked, crossing his arms.

"The what?" Peridot asked, raising a confused eyebrow as she put the code in.

"…Nevermind. Should have figured something as 'advanced' as a calculator would go right over your head, greenie."

Peridot shot Stan a rather sour glare as she stood, the vacuum now humming louder than it usually did, but functional nonetheless. "I don't appreciate your sarcasm, human."

"Yeah? Well I don't appreciate you breaking all my stuff, but here we are. Guess we both just have to deal with it."

* * *

 _Prompt: Why so glum?  
Characters: Lapis and Bill  
Setting: Mostly just a hypothetical, angsty little thing; Bill's a jerk, what else is new_

" _It's not like I banged little Pine Tree up that badly, Water Wings!"_ Bill shrugged, clearly unconcerned.

"Steven and Mabel told me you nearly killed him!" Lapis argued fiercely.

" _Oh, what do Shooting Star and Rosebud know?"_ the dream demon rolled his eye. " _And hey, look on the bright side! With Pine Tree as torn up about this whole thing as he is, at least you have someone to whine about how hard you've had it with!"_

Lapis let out a harsh scoff upon hearing this, even if she wasn't entirely sure what he meant. "What are you talking about?"

" _What, have you forgotten about all those lonely years trapped in that tiny little mirror of yous already, Water Wings?"_ Bill asked gloatingly. " _Or about all that time you spent swimming in the lake with your good pal Stripes?"_

The blue Gem froze at this, her eyes wide and her hand held up with a bust of water that she hadn't sent flying yet. "No," her voice came out a hallow whisper as her attack dispersed. She could only barely hear the dream demon's mocking laughter as she looked down to her own bare feet. "I haven't forgotten…"

* * *

 _Prompts: I woke up knowing this would happen  
Characters: Stan and Ford  
Setting: Post Catch and Release, before barn arc again_

The conman pinched the bridge of his nose as he stood in the doorway of the bathroom, taking in the mess before him. Ford stood alongside him, his arms crossed as he shared his brother's scowl.

"Its hard to believe that Peridot would be able to cause all this damage," Ford mused, looking over the broken shower curtain rod. "Especially without her artificial limbs… Then again, we are holding her against her will, so I suppose its to be expected."

"I never should have let you and the Gems trap that little green gremlin in here," Stan sneered crossly. "She's clearly not worth whatever trouble you all went through to catch her."

"Stanley, you don't understand," Ford replied just as coldly. "The Gems have been trying to capture Peridot for weeks now. And apparently, Steven got her to reveal that she has some very pertinent information. We need to restrain her and interrogate her so we can-"

"So you can what?" Stan asked, deapan. "Get her to tell you how she gets her hair into that weird triangle shape?"

"I'm _serious,_ Stanley," Ford scowled in annoyance.

"So am I. Sometimes I wish you and the kids weren't so in cahoots with the Gems. It'd save me from a lot of pointless aggravation, believe me."

* * *

 _Prompts: You need to leave.  
Characters: Bill and Pearl  
Setting: Hypothetical thing, would probably happen idk, after arc 6?_

"R-right now," Pearl finished shakily, the tip of her spear aimed up at the demon tauntingly hovering right out of her reach. "I'm not—I _won't_ let myself fall for your tricks, not now, or _ever_ again!"

" _Yeesh, what's with the harsh reception, Bird Brain?!"_ Bill quipped, rolling his eye. _"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you're not too happy to see me!"_

"I most certainly am _not_!" the white Gem exclaimed, her grip on her spear tightening. "Not after what you did the last time you came around. You nearly ruined-"

" _Yeah, yeah, I know, 'everything you Crystal Chumps have worked_ so _hard to protect',"_ the demon mocked carelessly. _"Quartzy gave me the same exact spiel all those years ago and it was just as boring back then as it is now. Tell me something I don't know, Bird Brain. Which would be pretty hard seeing as how I know just about_ everything _."_

By now, Pearl was more than provoked with Bill's aggravating presence and his callous teasing of her deceased liege, which was why she didn't hold back in swinging her spear broadly at him. Of course, the demon easily dodged it by teleporting out of her range, only to appear right behind her, teasingly laughing at her failed attempt. _"Aw, you missed! Nice try though! You wanna give it another shot? I'm_ sure _you'll get me next time!"_

The white Gem didn't play along with the demon's frustrating games as she instead spun around to face him, her hands clenched in tight fists as she sent him an unrelenting glare. "What do you even want anyway?! Because whatever it is, I can assure you that you will _not_ be getting it."

" _Oh, we'll see about that, Bird Brain,"_ Bill said rather darkly, his eye briefly flashing blue with malicious intent. _"We'll_ _ **see**_ _about that…"_

* * *

 _Prompt: I'm not the jealous type, I swear  
Characters: Ruby and Sapphire  
Setting: mostly just some Ruphhire fluff_

"Of course you're not," Sapphire said as calmly as ever.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby asked, suddenly offended.

"I was just agreeing with you," the blue Gem remarked, showing little emotion. "That's all."

"You don't believe me."

"Ruby-"

"No, no, I get it," Ruby said with a sardonic, bitter grin. "You think that just because you fused with Pearl without me, I'm all upset about it. Well I'm not."

"I know you're not."

"But you THINK I am."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to!"

"Ruby, please don't be mad…" Sapphire sighed. "We only fused for the sake of the mission. You would have done the same thing if you had to."

"Yeah but I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as you enjoyed being solo with Pearl," Ruby remarked bitterly.

"Oh, Ruby…" the blue Gem got up and walked over to her companion, wrapping her arms around her from behind. "You know that I miss you so much every second we're not together…"

"Yeah well…" the red Gem blushed, unable to stay angry after hearing this. "Every second we are together, everything feels just right…"

"You can say that again," Sapphire laughed as Ruby turned and dipped her into a prolonged, yet very enjoyable kiss.

* * *

 _Prompt: Can I borrow that book of yours?  
Characters: Dipper, Peridot, Ford  
Setting: during the barn arc_

"No," Dipper immediately replied, not even bothering to glance up from the journal. "Now, go away."

Peridot scowled in disappointment, but despite his initial rejection, she wasn't about to give up so easily. She had tried asking nicely, so she decided to try the next best thing to satisfy her curiosity about that intriguing red tome: stealing it.

"Hey!" Dipper exclaimed in surprise as the journal was suddenly pulled out of hands by Peridot, who was quick to start leafing through it before he could take it back. "Peridot!"

"So _this_ is one of those information logs that you and that Stanford human are so obsessed with?" the green Gem asked caustically. "Hm. I'm far from impressed with this… primitive method of recording research. My old electronic logs were far more efficient than this fiber and fluid based recording system."

" _Sure_ , they were," Dipper deadpanned, rolling his eyes. "Now give it back."

"Mm… no, I don't think so," Peridot said pointedly, still turning the pages of the journal and barely bothering to look over its contents.

"What? Why not?" Dipper asked with a frustrated scoff. "You said so yourself: you're not even interested in it! So why would you want to hang onto it?"

"Because you humans and those Crystal Clods seem to view these logs as important sources of information," the green Gem reasoned. "And perhaps with one of them at my disposal, I could use it to formulate my grand escape from this doomed planet! It's _brilliant_!"

"Oh yeah, it's definitely brilliant alright," Dipper remarked with a newfound smirk as he noticed something that Peridot hadn't.

"What are you grinning about?" she asked suspiciously. "I've already effectively defeated you! You should be groveling at my feet for mercy, you clo-"

"Clod?" Ford finished knowingly as he stepped past Peridot, using his superior height to easily pull the journal out of her hands.

"Wha—hey!" the green Gem shouted with newfound fury over how she had been thwarted so easily.

"A word of advice, Peridot," Ford said, grinning broadly as he returned his third journal to Dipper. "Don't brag about your 'evil' plans loudly enough that everyone in a 20 foot radius can hear them."

* * *

 _Prompt: He used to be my best friend  
Characters: Ford, Steven, and Dipper  
Setting: during the Last Mabelcorn, probably_

"…Even more than my mom was?" Steven asked after a tentative silence.

Ford seemed to be caught of guard by this question, not having expected the solemn sincerity in the young Gem's tone. Still, he didn't turn away from either Steven or Dipper as he offered a very truthful answer. "No, never. From the very beginning, I always knew I could trust Rose."

"So… did you ever tell her about Bill?" Dipper asked fretfully.

"She… found out about him on her own…" Ford sighed, looking even more tired than he usually did. "And that's what ended up breaking apart any trust she might have had for me…"

"But you guys made up with each other, didn't you?" Steven asked intently.

"Not really…" the researcher admitted morosely. "It's one of my greatest regrets… I've always wanted to apologize to her, but I didn't get the chance before… well, you know…"

The three of them were quiet for a long time after this, all of them feel rather small under the scrutiny of the eyes of the effigies of dream demon on every wall around them. In time, it was broken, again by Steven, whose voice was small, but sincere as he addressed Ford once more. "I think she would have forgiven you…"

* * *

 _Prompt: I thought you said you were a doctor  
Characters: Dipper, Connie, Pacifica  
Setting: just some hypothetical humor/fluff_

"Are you kidding me? My _mom_ is a doctor, not me!" Connie exclaimed, exasperated.

"Well then you probably know something about this sort of thing, don't you?!" Pacifica asked frantically, still trying her hardest not to look at the blood pouring down Dipper's arm.

"Not really," Connie frowned. "I mean, I have read a few things on stitching up wounds before, but I don't know a whole lot…"

"Pacifica, it's really not that bad," Dipper interjected, though his girlfriend was quick to cut him off.

"Quiet you!" she snapped, overcome with worry. "And as for you," she turned to Connie. "Do something before he bleeds out!"

"Ok, ok!" Connie exclaimed, pressing past the heiress as she unzipped her backpack. "Just give me some space to work, alright?"

"Fine," Pacifica scowled, crossing her arms but still hovering close by.

"Sorry, Connie," Dipper muttered apologetically. "Pacifica is a little… overprotective sometimes."

"I can tell," Connie chuckled as she began dabbing the blood off his arm. "I can't even imagine how she'll act when you tell her about our sword training."

* * *

 _Prompt: I had a dream last night about _  
Characters: Dipper and Lapis  
Setting: Some hypothetical angst, pretty short but whatever_

"Malachite," Dipper finished rather anxiously. A long bout of silence passed as he gaged Lapis's response, even if she really wasn't showing one.

Finally, the blue Gem spoke. "Oh," was all she said, her tone flat and empty.

"I-is that weird?" Dipper asked, knowing just how touchy a subject this was for her. "It's ok if you think it is. I just… I thought I'd let you know."

"What happened?" Lapis asked, finally looking over at him. "In your dream, I mean."

"Oh, uh… nothing really," he shrugged. "You guys-I mean, _she_ just sort of appeared for a minute and then she was gone. She didn't really do anything."

The blue Gem let out a small, almost bitter laugh upon hearing this. "If only I could have been that lucky…"

* * *

 **Aaaaaaand, that's all I got for ya this time around! Like I said, I'll be posting more of these, from other AUs and such next time around. But I figured this starter set would be nice to give you a taste of some short little drabbles and such. Either way, be sure to let me know which one of these you liked the most in the REVIEWS! Until next time!**


	4. UF2: A Final Farewell

_Ok so if you haven't been around on my tumblr, then I should probably provide a little context as to exactly what the hell this thing is. For once this isn't so much an AU thing as much as a speculative oneshot I decided to randomly write the other day because angst. Oh and also before you go any further. Fair warning, this thing is incredibly sad and incredibly angsty, so if you aren't into stuff like that, then you probably should turn back now (as opposed to yelling at me in the reviews for what I do in this thing, believe it or not I'm not a fan of that). So with that out of the way, let's talk about Stonemason. Now the whole Stonemason thing is an idea I'm considering for UF's sequel and its kinda too long to describe here, so I HIGHLY recommend reading this thing before continuing to get some much needed context here:_ _minijenn . tumblr post/164159320879/stonemason-saga-stuff (remove all the spaces to get there). But if you're already all caught up, then enjoy the PAIN!_

 _AU: None (UF2)_

* * *

 _A Final Farewell_

A heavy cloud of dread and worry seemed to hang between the Mystery Shack and the Crystal Temple, one that had been ever-present for the past several weeks really, but only seemed to grow thicker and darker as the days went by. Never before had either the Pines or the Gems encountered a situation that had left them all in a complete and utter loss over what to do. But really, what _could_ they do about something like this? Stonemason wasn't just another Gem to be bubbled or monster to be vanquished; underneath all of the masks and armor and brainwashing and conditioning, he was still Dipper. He was still Mabel's brother, still Steven and Connie's best friend, still Stan and Ford's great nephew, still all of the things that everyone so desperately wanted to get back after he was kept away from them and wiped clean by Yellow Diamond's twisted agenda. But when it came to Stonemason, they couldn't simply fight him; the risk of hurting him, or even worse, was far too great. All their plans to try and restrain and apprehend him in the hopes of helping him had all fallen flat and their morose pleas and appeals for him to return to his right mind had been staunchly ignored and refuted. And in lieu of these fruitless attempts, things only kept getting worse and worse. Not only were they forced to fend off the ruthless assassin's attempts on all their lives on nearly a daily basis, but just yesterday, Yellow Diamond had ordered Stonemason to attack Gravity Falls and its citizens, expanding the reach of this disaster beyond just their own front doors. Now the entire town was in a state of constant fear of the boy who had once helped to save them all while the Pines and the Gems struggled to come up with any kind of idea that had even the faintest hope of putting an end to this endless waking nightmare.

Hence why they had all gathered at the shack, Peridot, Lapis, Soos, and Wendy all joining them as they tried their best to strategize and formulate a plan. When the den had gotten too cluttered, they had taken to sitting outside, the lovely summer evening serving as a stark contrast to the absolute dread they were all feeling as they milled about, some more engaged with their current task than others. Ford, Pearl, and Peridot were all quite active in going through all of the notes and observations they had accumulated on Stonemason thus far, hoping that they could find some sort of crack in his seemingly impenetrable wall of fabricated loyalty to the Gem matriarch who had enslaved him in the first place. Stan, Amethyst, Lapis, and Wendy had busied themselves with plans of an entirely different kind: primarily far-fetched, rather directionless, yet heated threats about how they were going to absolutely shatter Yellow Diamond for what she had done to Dipper if any of them ever saw her in person. But as preoccupied with intense calculations and furious scheming as the adults were, Steven, Mabel, and Connie hardly took part in any of it as they sat by in dejected, morose silence, with Soos kindly offering himself as a cushion for them all to lean against. As they watched the sun sink lower beneath the trees, the fractured Mystery Kids were all largely thinking the same exact thing: yet another day had passed, another day with Stonemason on the prowl, another day with their lives all in grave danger, another day without Dipper.

And all three of them knew that if too many more days passed in such a way, it would quickly become far too much to bear.

Yet as much as the kids' hearts were aching, as much as all of their hearts were aching, really, Garnet was the only real outlier from the rounds of planning, outrage, and brooding. The Gem leader had taken to standing apace from all of the others, her sights set on the forest of all things. She had said nothing for the longest time, and for the longest time, no one had noticed her odd silence or her strange vigil. It was only as Amethyst happened to glance over in her direction that Garnet's intense focus was called to everyone else's attention.

"Uh… G? What's up?" the purple Gem called, somewhat on edge, just as everyone else had been for the past several weeks now. "You see something out there?"

Garnet didn't respond, instead opting to take a step forward, her hands clenched in fists at her side that were so tight they were practically shaking. "I know you're hiding in there," she spoke to the forest, her voice both stern and shaken all at once. "You're not going to find out anything you don't already know by spying on us, so you might as well come out and face us."

A brief rustle from the nearby tree line sounded at this, followed by a sharp, sickening snap. Seconds later, one of the pine trees from the edge of the woods suddenly began to fall, only to be caught squarely and tossed aside by Garnet before it could harm anyone. And in the spot where the tree had once been, there Stonemason stood, his arm shifted into a large claymore and his expression and manner as cold and hostile as usual. Upon seeing the assassin, everyone froze, none of them (save Garnet) expecting for him to appear at such a moment. Already, the Gems were summoning their weapons, less out of a desire to fight him and more out of the need to protect the humans among them. Steven, Mabel, and Connie quickly rose from their spot on the porch, breaths caught in their throats as they stared fearfully at what Homeworld had turned Dipper into, the sight always hurting them far more than Stonemason's murderous intents ever could.

"Put your weapons away," the assassin began, a hint of blatant aggravation in his tone as he took another step forward. "For once, I'm not here to strike down any of you, as much as I wish that was the case…"

"T-then why are you here?" Pearl asked, her tone uneven as she still kept her spear held up.

"W-wait!" Mabel suddenly exclaimed with a small gasp, pulling herself out of Soos' protective grip on her shoulder as she stepped forward and looked to her brother-turned-assassin pleadingly. "I-if you aren't here to fight then… could it be? …D-Dipper?"

Stonemason was quick to shoot her hopes down with an exasperated scoff as his claymore formed itself back into a normal hand. "There you go again with that pathetic 'Dipper' ruse again," he scowled petulantly. "One would think that you'd give such a sorry appeal up by now. But I have no intentions of wasting my time trying to make you fools see any kind of logical reason. Instead," he paused, reaching underneath his cape to pull out a small, yellow, disk-like device. "I come bearing a message to you all from my Diamond. I was ordered to deliver it to you and nothing more."

And with that, the assassin succinctly placed the disk on the ground in front of him and turned to leave. Half of the group was quick to leap into action at this, realizing that now would be an opportune time to catch him. But, as always, Stonemason seemed to be one step ahead. Amethyst's lashed-out whip was quickly severed in half by his blade, the blunt end of Wendy's axe warded off by the sturdy shield it quickly became, and Lapis' blast of entrapping water was all but deftly dodged as the assassin swiftly leapt up into the branches of a nearby tree. He paused, though only for a moment, turning back to face the anxious group below with a haughty sneer.

"Sooner or later you all are going to realize that your meager attempts to cut me down will only end in your own downfall," Stonemason remarked coldly. "As I've said before, I have a mission bestowed to me straight from my Diamond herself; and what a great honor it will be to finally complete that mission and destroy you all, Crystal Gems and humans alike, once and for all."

Without sparing another word, the assassin took off, using his metallic hand to leap from tree to tree as he disappeared into the darkness of the woods. Lapis had summoned her wings to race after him, tears in her eyes that brimmed with the desire to finally reclaim the boy she cared so much about. However, she was quickly stopped by Ford before she could even take flight.

"Wait!" the author exclaimed, managing to keep the blue Gem grounded. "There's no use in trying to chase him down now when he'll have the cover of night on his side. We need to keep trying to figure out a plan to trap him on our own terms."

"Oh what, you mean another plan that _won't_ end up working?!" Lapis snapped harshly, clearly fed up with having to wait to save Dipper. "We need to go after him _now_!"

"But wait, what about that message he left behind?" Connie interjected, hurrying over to retrieve the disk that Stonemason had left with them. "Shouldn't we at least see what it says?"

"If it's from that dumb old Diamond, then what's the point?" Stan asked, crossing his arms bitterly. "Its probably just her bragging about everything she did to that poor kid so she can get our goat even more than she already has, the stupid, uppity, sadistic, snobby bit-"

" _Stan_!" Pearl succinctly cut the conman out before the swear could escape him, even it if was something all of them had been thinking concerning the Gem matriarch for quite some time now.

"Guys, I hate to say it, but… what if that message thing has some sort of clue about how to save Dipper?" Wendy suggested with a rare fretful frown. "Wouldn't that make it worth checking it out?"

"It would," Garnet nodded firmly. "And we're going to. In fact, at this point, we _need_ to."

"W-what… what do you think it could be?" Steven asked apprehensively, not entirely sure if he wanted to know.

"Whatever it is," the Gem leader said, already leading the way back into the shack. "We're about to find out."

* * *

Though it was a rather tight fit, everyone managed to crowd together into the den once more, all of them rather stilted in anxious silence as Peridot analyzed the message disk Stonemason had delivered. "Hm… a rather basic message module," she noted, turning the device over. "The kind that erases all data as soon as its message has been played… How odd… I've never known Yellow Diamond to use something so… primitive compared to the other forms of relaying recorded communication they have back on Homeworld…"

"C-can you get it to work?" Mabel asked, shifting apprehensively in her spot on Stan's lap.

"Oh, of course I can," Peridot said, sending the girl a small, reassuring smile. "Give me just a second here…"

As the green Gem continued tinkering with the device, everyone seemed to collectively hold their breaths, unsure of what they were about to see. Stan and Ford both had steadying hands resting on Mabel's shoulders as they noticed tears were already welling up in her eyes before the message had even began, most likely from their most recent encounter with Stonemason. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Lapis all sat clustered close to Steven, none of them able to deny the unshakable guilt and dread that had lingered in his eyes ever since he had first gotten back from Homeworld weeks ago. And in between both groups hung Soos, Wendy, and Connie, all ready to help provide emotional support if needed in light of what they were about to see. Still, no one said anything, none of them willing to further speculate on what this message might be, especially as Peridot finally got the device working.

"Aaaand, there we go!" the green Gem finished with the push of a button, placing the now glowing disk on the floor, though it soon began to hover as she hurried away from it to take a spot on the floor beside Lapis. The module flashed, a wide screen projection bursting out from it bearing the insignia of the Diamond Authority at first before getting to the message it was meant to relay.

However, instead of Yellow Diamond, the group was met with the sight of a Gem none of them had ever seen before. She was bright orange in coloration, about Pearl's height with a full, yet feminine build. Her paler hair was piled into a neat bun atop her head, and at the center of that bun was where her gemstone rested. She was dressed almost like a nurse would be, in a neat, simple gown and an apron that bore Yellow Diamond's telltale symbol upon it as she stood before a white, sterile background akin to a hospital room. Despite her surroundings, the Gem's expression was sad as she looked out from the screen, her bright eyes haunted and filled with regret, regret that transparently spilled into her tone as she began to speak.

" _Hello, Crystal Gems, humans,"_ she said, bowing her head in polite respect to the confused group watching the recording. _"None of you know me, but over the past few Earth weeks, I have come to know your Mason—or rather,_ Dipper _—quite well."_

This quickly elicited a collective gasp from the group, though none of them still knew what to make of this mysterious, morose Gem until she continued.

" _Allow me to introduce myself. I am Amber, an organics and biological specialist originally assigned to monitor human health and wellbeing at Pink Diamond's zoo. However, with the development of my Diamond's most recent… project involving humans, I was relocated here to Homeworld to ensure that the specimens used in said project remained alive during the modification process."_

"Project?" Pearl whispered, eyes wide as she looked to the one Gem in the room who would possibly know something about this. "What project?"

"I-I have no idea," Peridot shook her head. "When I left Homeworld, Yellow Diamond had no interest in any project that needed humans… It makes no sense…"

" _Unfortunately, most of the humans from the zoo that had been utilized in this experiment… did not survive the modification process due to its severity,"_ Amber went on, glancing down remorsefully. _"Yet one did survive, a human that came not from the zoo, but from earth: your Dipper. And based on that information and what you've likely already seen of him, I suppose you can guess what the result of this experiment was…"_

"Stonemason…" Ford muttered gravely, shaking his head. "I can't believe it. Yellow Diamond had plans to do what she did to Dipper to _other_ humans before him…"

"Yeesh, she's even more messed up than we gave her credit for," Stan remarked, unable to suppress a genuine shudder at the thought.

" _And so, like all of the other humans, I was assigned to keep tabs on Dipper's vitals and make sure that he survived through the process,"_ Amber sighed, taking a moment to steady herself before continuing. _"At first, I saw it as nothing more than a task given to me by my Diamond, just another experiment to mind, one who would likely perish in due time as a result of the intensive physical and mental conditioning that was pressed upon him."_

Mabel drew in a sharp breath upon hearing this, sending the Gem on screen the fiercest glare she could muster. The way she spoke of her brother as if he were nothing more than a mere expendable lab rat practically made her blood boil with fury. It gave her more than enough reason to hate this Gem, to hate Yellow Diamond, to hate all of Homeworld for taking Dipper away from her and turning him into the soulless killing machine he was now.

" _And yet,"_ Amber went on, making Mabel pause in slight curiosity, even though she largely wanted to tune the orange Gem out by this point. _"He didn't perish. He_ lived _. He forced himself to live, forced himself to endure and survive and persevere as long as he could, both inside and out. He carried a kind of tenacity I had never observed in any human before, a strength of will so unshakable that it took almost everything my Diamond had to finally break that nearly endless resolve. He fought hard for his freedom, freedom that he ended up losing in the end, but he did not lose it without honor or dignity. His struggle was a long one, a hard one, and I watched it all. And as I watched, I found myself inspired by his valor, his courage, his dedication to… to all of you… For you all were the reason why he wanted to survive, why he chose to live. He often spoke of his desire to escape, to make it back to Earth, and to be with all of you again. The look in his eyes when he said such things, so full of hope and longing amidst all of the misery and anguish he was enduring… I will never forget it…"_

By now, just about everyone in the room had started tearing up from Amber's testimony alone, though even still, out of all of them, Mabel was still rather incensed. "S-so what?!" she exclaimed, hopping off of Stan's lap as she stood before the screen petulantly. "She felt sorry for him, yeah, but she still didn't do anything to help him! If she was so "inspired" by his "courage" then why didn't she put him on a ship and send him back here before Stonemason ever even happened?!"

"Mabel… I doubt it would have been that simple…" Pearl cautioned sympathetically. "On Homeworld, things are different. Most Gems there don't-"

" _Believe me when I say I wanted to save him from the fate he now knows,"_ Amber's timely explanation cut in as tears started to well up in her eyes. _"B-but… I was afraid. Afraid of what my Diamond might do to me if she discovered I rebelled against her. Unfortunately, I do not carry the same clout as you Crystal Gems or even Dipper did… Though now I wish I had in light of that…_ thing _she's turned him into…"_ The orange Gem had to pause at this, a small sob finally escaping her before she rushed to regain her composure. _"S-still… I did what I could as he reached his final days of free will. I had asked of him what one thing he would want more than anything else before he faded away, an outcome we both saw rapidly coming at that point. And he told me that what he desired above all else… was one last chance to speak to all of you. And so… I gave him that chance. You should know that what you're about to see is something Dipper never intended as a plea for help. Rather, he said it would be like his final farewell… a farewell he said was meant for you, his friends and family. But as you watch it, I hope it can prove to be something far more than that… And so, here it is."_

The screen went white at this and it was accompanied by several seconds of stark silence that seemed to go on forever. And yet, when the scene changed, hardly anyone was able to hold their emotions back at the person standing before them.

"Dipper!" Mabel cried, choking out a sob as she hurried up to the screen itself. Sure enough, there was her brother, bereft of any armor or even his new metallic arm as he was positioned in a different room from the one Amber had recorded in. None of them paid any mind to that however as they took in his appearance, leaving them quite shocked by what the saw. Most noticeably was the fact that his left arm was completely gone, with nothing but a short, meager stump hanging from his shoulder remaining. His hair and clothes were both absolute messes, his vest torn so much that it was barely even wearable but he had still hung onto it for likely emotional value more than anything else. But even more striking than that was his face, marred with several healing scars and gashes, though they were still visible all the same. The usual bags under his eyes had deepened and darkened significantly and his eyes themselves looked hallow in a sense, empty and exhusted, yet they still carried some semblance of a spark in them, though it was much dimmer than it should have been. He didn't start off by looking to the screen itself but rather aside to it as he called out expectantly.

" _Is it working?"_ he asked, his remaining hand held close to his chest in an anxious fist.

" _It should be, yes_ ," Amber answered from somewhere offscreen. Upon this confirmation, Dipper took in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before he looked to his audience himself. On the other end of things, everyone had pushed in a bit closer to the screen, all of them completely captivated at the sight of him as he really was once more as opposed to the merciless assassin he had been molded into. Remembering Peridot's caution about the device erasing itself after its message was relayed, Wendy had pulled her phone out and started recording the recording, knowing that this precious, fleeting, final message from Dipper, whatever it was, had to be preserved somehow.

" _Um, ok…"_ Dipper began awkwardly, letting out his breath as he raised his hand up with a feeble smile of greeting. _"H-hey, everyone. Long time no see, huh? W-well… then again, depending on when you get this, maybe not…"_ A look of deep fear washed over his face, but he hurriedly pushed it away and forced a smile once more. _"Anyway, I… I'm… well, I… oh man, how am I supposed to even start this? There's so much I want to say a-and I feel like I won't have enough time to get even half of it out, but I guess I should start with… I'm sorry."_

"No," Mabel whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared at her brother on the screen desperately. "No, bro-bro, _please_ don't be sorry, you didn't-"

" _I'm sorry for not making it home,"_ Dipper continued nonetheless. _"And for making you all worry so much, and for everything that's gonna happen when I'm-"_ He abruptly stopped at this, a tight sob escaping him as tears finally started falling from his eyes. He didn't wipe them away, however as he continued, pain etched on his face as he spoke honestly, knowing now was not the time for something as pointless as embarrassment. _"I… I never wanted any of this to happen… Mabel, Steven, I-I just wanted to protect you. I never could have guessed that my Diamo-"_ He cut himself again, this time with a gasp as he covered his mouth, his eyes wide with alarm at this misstep caused by the encroaching conditioning. Still, he tried to continue, shaking his head as he struggled to refer to the Gem matriarch without any form of respect whatsoever though it was clear that the loyalty to her that had unfairly been pushed upon him was starting to win out. _"That m-my… n-no, that Y-Yellow…_ m-my _Diamond—NO!"_ His struggle turned into a shout as he placed a hand against his head, agonized by something unseen as he tried to calm down but failed.

"Oh… Dipper…" Lapis whispered, completely heartbroken as she took another step closer to the screen. Both grief and rage flowed through the blue Gem at the same time as she wanted to hug Dipper and shatter Yellow Diamond all at once, two goals that were so far out of her reach at the moment.

After a few seconds of heavy breathing and incoherent muttering, Dipper was finally able to go on, albeit a bit more unsteady than before. _"I could have never guessed that_ she _would do this to me… B-but in the end I guess it only makes sense… She's made it very clear by now just how much she hates all of us, but I think I've scored a pretty large portion of that hatred from how much I've been fighting against her. A-and that's another thing: I_ need _you guys to know that I've been fighting_ so _hard to keep myself from turning into what she wants me to be, from doing what she wants me to do to all of you… But… it's getting harder…"_ He paused with a saddened sigh as he glanced down at what remained of his left arm. _"There are a lot of times where I feel like I'm not all there, you know? It's like… like I black out for a bit but I'm still awake, only someone else is in control… And, to be totally honest… it terrifies me… It's getting worse and worse every day and I don't know how to stop it and it_ hurts _and I'm trying everything I can to fight it but nothing's working and I-I don't want to just fade away like this without ever seeing any of you again and I-!"_ He finally cut this bout of frenzied rambling off with a sharp, panicked sob, one that conveyed every bit of terror and grief he had been trying to hold back throughout this message in one fell swoop.

To the group watching, none of them knew what to say in response to such clear, poignant misery, but they all held the exact same thought in mind. That if not for the screen and time itself distancing them, they would all gladly give up anything for the chance to embrace this poor, downtrodden, bruised and beaten boy before them. They would give him gentle, genuine reassurances that he would be safe and free once more. They would bring him back, bring him home to be among friends and family who loved and supported him rather than enemies who only wanted to harm and destroy him. They would put him back together even though he had so clearly fallen apart. They would do all of these things and more… if only they could.

Once again, it took Dipper a moment or two to recover his composure, but he forced himself to do so, wanting to get his message across more than anything else. _"I-I know what this might seem like, b-but I'm not here to ask you guys to come rescue me,"_ he said, tears still streaming down his cheeks as the last remaining remnants of abject horror began to fade from his eyes. _"In fact, that's about the last thing I want. I'm not worth it, I'm not worth any of you risking your lives for."_

"Yes, you are…" Steven whispered morosely, guiltily as his tears shed solemnly. "You're worth it way more than some of us are…"

" _So… instead, think of this as more of a… goodbye I guess, one that I really hope you all end up getting…"_ Dipper sighed, solemnly, but finally calm for the most part. _"D-don't get me wrong, you'll end up seeing me again soon, I'm sure, but by then… I won't really be_ me _anymore… I… I don't really know how many of you are actually watching this but I figured I'd just go through everyone I could, so… here goes nothing."_

Everyone seemed to lean forward a bit at this, none of them wanting to miss a single word Dipper was about to say. True, there was little chance that anything that would follow would actually end up tangibly helping matters as they currently were, but the incredibly emotional significance of this message as a whole could not be understated.

" _Peridot, I know you'd never let me hear the end of it if I didn't start with you, so you're up first,"_ Dipper began with a small, wry smile. The green Gem sucked in a sharp sniffle upon hearing this, but fortunately, Lapis placed a steadying hand on her shoulder, even if she was a tearful mess herself. _"I know we didn't really get off on the right foot last summer, but I'm so glad we finally met each other halfway after it was all said and done. You might be a little upset to hear this, but you're_ nothing _like the Peridots I've been dealing with here, a-and to be honest, that's something you should be really proud of. You really are better than any of them, no matter what anyone else says—even if you can be a little aggravating sometimes."_

"Same to you, you c-clod," Peridot finally cracked a small smile, her usual insult carrying nothing but the upmost affection and respect this time as she shook her head sadly. Lapis pulled her a bit closer, both Gems leaning against each other for support as the message continued.

" _Soos,"_ Upon hearing his name, the handyman stood, his hat in his hands as he looked to the screen tearfully, despite the warm smile Dipper was offering. _"I don't even think its possible to tell you how awesome you are, man. You've done so much for me and Mabel and, well, just about everyone! I only wish I could have done more to pay you back for all the times you've been there for all of us, but… I don't think that can happen now…"_

"No worries, dude…" Soos whispered with a solemn whimper. "You've already done way more than enough."

" _Wendy, I-I… you already know you're the coolest person I've ever met,"_ Dipper went on, his tone turning a bit fonder, something that was not lost on the cashier as she weakly returned his smile. _"But really, you're so much more than that. You're so smart and fun and brave and-"_ He interupted himself with a soft, wistful sight. _"Is it any wonder why I had such a huge crush on you for the longest time?"_ At this, he laughed in spite of himself, and for everyone watching, as stricken with grief as they were, no one was able to deny the warmth that sparked within them upon hearing such a genuine, pure sound once more. _"I-I know we promised that we'd trade hats again at the end of the summer but… I kind of need to ask you for a favor about that, Wendy. Could you maybe let Mabel keep my hat instead? I… I have a feeling she's going to want to hang onto it…"_

"Anything for you, Dipper," Wendy nodded, a silent tear streaming down her cheek as she watched him playfully zip his lips, a gesture she returned as she knew exactly what that meant between them. At the same time, Mabel broke down into another broken sob, knowing that the very hat her brother had spoken of now rested right upstairs, sitting on his vacant bed as it if was a monument to him. A testament of just how much she wanted him back.

" _Uh, speaking of crushes, I guess that brings me to you, Pacifica,"_ Dipper went on, blushing softly as he mentioned his girlfriend's name. Unfortunately, the heiress wasn't present for this gathering, but Wendy assured Mabel, Steven, and Connie with a nod that she was indeed recording the message, which meant that Pacifica would indeed get to see it. _"I don't see any reason to beat around the bush here so, I just want you to know that… I-I love you. A-and I know if you were right here with me, you'd probably punch me on the arm and tell me that I'm being a corny dork and that I'm embarrassing you, but I mean it. Its so crazy for me to think that I hated you at the beginning of last summer, but now? I couldn't imagine us not being together. Which is why… I'm so sorry for all of this. I don't want to leave you all alone, I-I don't want what we have to end, but… but I can't-"_ He took in a sharp sob at this, one that was caused by natural grief and heartache rather than anything Yellow Diamond had done to him. He was unable to remain steady as he went on, but he did so nonetheless, tearfully relaying what he believed would be his last message to the girl he so deeply loved. _"Pacifica, I-I… I know this might not be easy but… I hope you remember what I told you the night of the party: that you're so,_ so _much more than what your parents want you to be. You're kind and caring and brilliant and beautiful and_ incredible _and I would give_ anything _to see you one last time for myself to show you how much I love you in person but… for now… I guess this is the best I can do."_ He finished off by blowing a kiss to the screen, something he usually wouldn't have done, but given the circumstances, it certainly got his intent across. Though Pacifica wasn't there, Mabel had no doubts in her mind that upon seeing this, the heiress would certainly be awash in tears, even more than she had already shed over what had become of her boyfriend already.

Yet even still, Dipper was far from finished. _"Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, I… I just wanted to say thank you,"_ he smiled, tears till wet on his cheeks as he spoke with genuine gratitude. _"Thank you all so much for_ everything _. Garnet, thanks for just… being there, for always being ready to stand up and fight but also for just being willing to talk or give out advice, both of which are things that you're really good at, by the way."_ The Gem leader nodded graciously at this, smiling softly despite the tears slipping out from underneath her visor. _"Amethyst, I'm not gonna lie, you're kind of a mess, but I mean that in the best of ways. Even if I didn't always act like it, every time you dragged all of us off onto some kind of misadventure or whatever, I always had a lot of fun. I… I'll miss that…"_

"Same here, you big nerd," Amethyst sniffled, unable to find a smile at all as she looked to the screen, clearly distraught.

" _A-and Pearl… thank you so much for everything you've taught me. I feel like I've gotten so much more out of your lessons than just learning how to fight. You taught me how to really believe in something and you encouraged me to do what I had to do to protect that something, and I can't tell you how grateful I am for that."_

"N-no…" Pearl whispered, completely shaken as she wrapped her arms around herself tightly as she spoke to him as if he could hear her. "D-don't be… It… it's because of me teaching you how to fight that this happened to you in the first place… I-it's all my fault!"

"No," Garnet corrected her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, though it was clear she was just as emotionally compromised. "It's not."

"B-but-"

"It's _not_ ," the Gem leader reiterated, the rigidity in her tone reminding them all that the one who was truly to blame for this was the Gem matriarch who had caused all this pain herself.

" _Great Uncle Ford, I-I… I feel like I really need to thank you too,"_ Dipper paused briefly, his smile fading into a look of shame, one that admittedly confused the author as he kept his sights trained on his nephew. _"A-and I also need to apologize… I remember you telling me after Bill got his hands on the rift that being a hero means fighting back even when it seems impossible. I've been thinking a lot about that lately, a-and I've been trying my hardest to do that, to fight my Dia—to fight_ her _in anyway way I can… but like I said, it's getting to be so_ hard _… Nothing I do is working, i-it… it all feels so_ hopeless _… I'm trying to not just give up but… I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold out for until… u-until…"_ He shuddered, unable to finish the thought of what he knew was coming. Of what everyone watching had already seen. Up until now, none of them had been aware that Dipper had known what was going to become of him prior to it actually happening, but now it was obvious that Yellow Diamond had informed him of his dark fate well in advance, most likely as a way to break him down even further. Yet another cruel tactic she employed to ultimately ruin him, inside and out. _"S-so, Great Uncle Ford, I'm sorry… You've always encouraged me to fight in the face of just about anything: Bill, my Diamon—Y-yellow Dia—my… m-my…_ her," he struggled once more, his remaining fist shaking tightly as he closed his eyes and forced his quickened breathing to slow down into a slower, saddened pace. _"See what I mean? Its gotten so bad that I can't even say her_ name _anymore_ … _She was right… I really am pathetic… I-I… I let you down, Great Uncle Ford, I let all of you down. A-and I'm so,_ so _sorry for disappointing you…"_

"N-no," Ford shook his head, his tone rather broken as he addressed the screen. He was well aware of how completely irrational talking to a recorded message was, but he couldn't help it. This was his nephew, his prodigy, his absolute pride, standing before him in what could very well be the last true glimpse of how he was really supposed to be. Which was why in that moment, emotions easily beat logic out in the author's already aching heart. "No, Dipper, _please_ don't think that. I could never, _ever_ be disappointed in you, you know that! I-"

" _A-and… the same apology goes for you, Grunkle Stan,"_ Dipper continued nonetheless, his tears essentially a constant at this point.

"Aw, geez, kid, don't-" Stan spoke up morosely, though he quickly silenced himself to hear what his nephew had to say.

" _You always wanted me to be tough and strong and ready to face whatever life threw at me and for the most part, I thought I was… b-but I guess nothing could have prepared me for any of this… It's just… It's not fair that you sacrificed all of your memories to protect us all from Bill, to keep me and Mabel safe, and then… then there I went, throwing myself right into the kind of danger you wanted to keep us safe from! I was stupid and reckless and scared and I just… acted without thinking, just like I always do! You warned me that being like this would get me into trouble someday, Grunkle Stan, a-and… you were absolutely right… Because it looks like I'm finally paying the price for never listening to you, huh? I… I guess this is exactly what I deserve in that case…"_

"Oh _hell_ no!" Stan launched out of his chair at this, visibly seething as he stormed up to the screen, completely forgetting that it was just that: a screen. "You take that back _right now_ , kid! You did _nothing_ to deserve any of what that big yellow broad did to you! Don't you _ever_ think that something like this was supposed to happen to you because you're _dead wrong_ if you believe that! Now wise up and…. and…" The conman finally let loose the bitter sob he had been holding in throughout this entire message, unable to contain his grief over the agonizing loss of his nephew any longer. Stan shook his head dejectedly as he sank back into his chair, a hand over his eyes as he finished with a feeble, sorrow-ridden mutter. "A-and come back to all of us already… will ya?"

Everyone spared the conman a look of sympathetic concern, but all the same, Dipper's message went on, his tone turning even more despondent somehow as he glanced down woefully. _"A-and now… I guess the only ones left are the hardest ones for me to get through… I… probably shouldn't have saved them for last but… it's too late now, so… here we go…"_ He took in a deep, steadying breath as he looked up again with devout intent. _"Lapis?"_ The blue Gem was starkly silent as she stepped forward, her hands against her heart as she stared at the image of the boy she cared so much about, wishing so much that he was actually there with her and not merely on some intangible, unfeeling screen. _"I… I know I've told you this before but… I'm still_ so _glad we freed you from that mirror and I'm_ so _glad I was the one who found you after you came back to Earth. Whenever things get… r-really bad here, I sometimes think about those nights we hung out near the lake together, and even though it makes me miss home even more than I already do, it still helps…"_ Lapis said nothing, her posture rigid as she refused to share his bittersweet smile, as her racing thoughts and crushing despair seemed to all crash into each other at once. _"I… probably shouldn't say this but… I think I understand now… h-how you felt when you were Malachite… It's like… its like there's you but t-there's also someone else, a-and you're always trying to get the upper hand over that someone else and stay in control but… you feel like, no matter how hard you fight or how hard you try… its all for nothing because you're just going to end up losing everything in the end…"_ The blue Gem finally let out a harsh, anguished sob upon hearing Dipper, of all people, describe the horrific experience she had known as Malachite so completely and so accurately. She found no solace in his understanding, however; rather, it was deep, profound grief in knowing that the only reason he was able to comprehend such awful torment at all was because he was currently going through something so incredibly similar to it himself. _"If what you went through with Jasper is_ anything _like what's happening to me, then I'm_ so _sorry that you felt like you had to put yourself through something so terrible just to keep me safe… Y-you didn't deserve any of that, Lapis… you never did…"_

 _Yes, I did…_ Lapis wanted to say, but her words just wouldn't come as she sat there, almost numbly. _I deserved every last moment of it. But you, Dipper… you don't deserve_ any _of this…_

Before moving onto his next farewell, Dipper paused, glancing down in thought for a moment before smiling as he gave his last words to the mournful blue Gem. _"Oh, and Lapis? I-I still mean what I said over a year ago. Things_ will _get better, e-even if… even if I'm not around anymore… I promise…"_

And with that warm, nostalgic promise, Lapis was unable to bear her overwhelming agony any longer. The blue Gem said nothing as she forcefully tore her gaze away from the boy she viewed as a son, the boy who was now seemingly lost to her forever. And with her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides, she stormed off, rushing out of the shack and unfurling her aquatic wings the moment she stepped outside. "Lapis!" Peridot ran after her, immensely concerned as the blue Gem took off, not bothering to even spare a glance behind her as she soared above the forest. A few of the others joined the green Gem at the door, namely Steven, Ford, and Garnet, all of them watching in dismay as Lapis flew off, mostly likely with the intention of tracking Stonemason down and doing whatever she could to try and bring Dipper back, even though so far, none of them had even been able to come close .

"Don't worry," Garnet assured, placing a hand on the worried green Gem's shoulder. "She'll be back."

Though tears were welling up in Peridot's eyes once again, she nodded in terse acceptance of this, following the others back into the den to watch whatever remained of Dipper's message. _"Connie, I… this is probably gonna sound really selfish, but I need to ask you for a favor. I know we all agreed that we'd be there to help and protect each other, no matter what, but… I won't really be able to do that anymore. S-so… I was hoping you could look out for Mabel in my place. I know, I know: she can take care of herself, but I also know she's not going to want to fight m-me…"_ He hung his head in shame for the inevitable for the moment, both anger and remorse over what he knew he was about to become so incredibly transparent on his face, even as he continued. _"So… protect her for me, and Steven too, a-and yourself. Honestly, you're better at me than sword fighting in a lot of ways, so it really shouldn't be that hard. Normally I'd never ask you to do something like this, Connie, something that_ I _should be doing instead, but... I don't really have any other choice at this point. I hate to say it… but it looks like the Mystery Kids are going to be down to just three from now on… I hope you guys can keep this thing going without me somehow."_

"We can't…" Connie muttered with a soft sob as Steven gripped her hand tightly. "We _won't._ Not without you…"

" _And on that note, I-I guess that brings me to you, Steven…"_ Dipper sighed, unable to continue without letting out a morose wimper, one that the young Gem immediately echoed as he barely even felt Garnet place a comforting hand on his shoulder. _"I have a feeling that you're going to want to blame yourself for all of this, but please,_ please _don't do that. None of this is your fault… i-it's_ mine. _I was the one who chose to jump off that palanquin at the last moment and I'm the one who hasn't been able to get myself out of this mess because I'm too weak and afraid a-and_ broken _and so many other things but you_ need _to know that none of that is because of you! M-my Diamo-"_ Once again, he cut himself off, trying to resist the pressing conditioning before letting out a sigh of defeat in realizing that it was no use; it would win out against him every single time. _"…My… my Diamond said that when I'm… 'finished', you're going to be my main target, Steven, but I-I don't_ want _to hurt you! You're one of my best friends, and the thought of being sent off to kill you is… i-it's one of the worst things I've_ ever _had to deal with! She keeps telling me that I_ should _hate you, that I_ should _want to destroy you, but I_ don't _! If it wasn't for you, I would have missed out on so many amazing things, but out of everything, the one thing my mind keeps coming back to for some reason is fusion. I-it's still so weird to think about, but the feeling we got from being Stepper, after we found the harmony… it was…_ incredible… _I wish I could experience that feeling just one more time, but… I doubt we'll really ever get the chance to fuse, o-or honestly do anything else together again…"_

Steven was trembling with tears by this point, unable to do anything else but shake his head despondently as he reminded himself that Dipper was wrong: that all of this _was_ his fault and that he was solely to blame. For certainly, Yellow Diamond would have never bothered with this cruel form of 'revenge' if it wasn't for him, if it wasn't for the slight his own mother had committed against Homeworld, if it wasn't for his own complete and utter inability to quell a conflict that had been going on for far too long now and saw no real end in sight. And because of his failure, one of his closest friends had paid the far too heavy price for something that only he should have suffered for alone.

" _So that means the only thing I can do now is ask you the same thing I asked Connie,"_ Dipper continued solemnly. _"Take care of Mabel, please. I… don't really know how much this will hurt her, but I do know that if I was back there and all this was happening to her, I-I… I wouldn't be able to handle it… So just… be there for her now that I can't be… ok?"_

The young Gem drew in an unsteady breath at this, but even so he nodded, knowing that after all of the pain and anguish he had unintentionally caused Dipper, this was the very least he could do to make things right. "O-of course…" Steven whispered so quietly that his voice was barely audible as he choked on yet another sorrowful sob, his hope probably running lower than just about anyone else's. "Of course I will… I promise… A-and I'm sorry… It should have been _me_ , I-I'm sorry!" He gradually grew both in volume and despair, especially as Dipper happened to offer him a smile that he felt he in no way deserving of. "None of this should have happened to you! It's all my fault! I should have been the one to stay on Homeworld, not you! This all should have happened to _me_! It's exactly what I deserve now that you're… n-now that you've been… y-you didn't… I… I…" The young Gem eventually trailed off into a harsh, bitter cry, one that was wracked with overwhelming guilt as Garnet quickly pulled him into her embrace, holding onto him tightly as he continued weeping morosely into her chest, unable to shake his heartbreak away for something so terrible, something that only he could carry the blame for.

Mabel watched in sympathetic silence as the young Gem poured his grief out, but her attention was quickly diverted as her brother finally addressed her. _"And… last but not least… Mabel…"_ Dipper was unable to hold back a sob as he smiled weakly, though it never met his eyes as he spoke to his sister for what he clearly assumed would be the last time. _"You... I… I can't… O-oh, where do I even start? I… I guess… I want to…"_ He stopped short again, shaking his head as if to clear it before figuring out how he wanted to approach this. _"Y-you remember how we promised each other that we were going to grow up together and stick by each other, no matter what happens? W-well… I don't think I'll really be able to keep that promise anymore, but… I just want you to know how much I wish I could… I wish I could come home and be with you and Steven and Connie and everyone else again. I wish we could have the rest of our summer to hang out and solve mysteries and go on adventures and just be_ together _like we were before all of this… I wish you and me could go through high school side by side, just like we planned… But, you know, I'd honestly be just as happy with seeing you face to face one last time… But since I can't, I guess this will have to do instead…"_

Mabel took in a small, shaky breath as she stepped a bit closer to the screen, her face warm with tears as she watched Dipper slowly place his remaining hand against his end of it. He waited expectantly for a moment, not voicing his intent but making it clear enough through his warm, patient smile. It didn't take long for Mabel to understand as she soon reached her own trembling hand up, placing it over the holographic image of her brother's as he closed his eyes, prompting her to do the exact same thing.

" _I miss you… so much…_ " he said, and with her eyes closed, she was almost able to imagine that he really was standing right there in front of her as opposed to being just a message on a screen. The thought warmed her as she found a gentle smile spreading across her face, her tears slow and almost sweet now as she repeated the sentiment, hoping that he could somehow hear her.

"I miss you too…" she whispered, her tone distant as she kept her eyes closed, refusing to let the illusion break so soon.

" _I-I know you're probably really mad at me for staying behind, but I had to… for you…"_

"I'm not mad," she shook her head, feeling as though she really was carrying on an actual conversation with him, as strange as it seemed. "I just… I-I just want you back…"

" _But still, I'm sorry… I'm so,_ so, so, _sorry, Mabel… a-and not just for staying behind either. I don't know what might happen once I'm… a-after my Diamond has finished turning me into… w-what I'm trying to say is I don't know what's going to happen next. But if something happens and I end up hurting you, you need to know that its not me. I-I'd never,_ ever _want to hurt you. I-if there was any way I could stop that from happening, to stop any of this from happening, you know I'd take it in a heartbeat just to keep you safe…"_

"I-I know, bro-bro…" she muttered dolefully, wanting nothing more than to keep _him_ safe. "I know…"

" _And finally, I… I guess I just want to say thanks. You're the best twin I could have ever asked for, and I totally mean that. We've been through basically_ everything _together, a-and even though we've had our arguments and problems with each other in the past, I wouldn't trade_ any _of the time I had with you for_ anything _in the world. I'd like to say I'll never forget any of it, but… with everything that's happening, I think its safe to say I won't be able to hold onto it all for too much longer so… do you think you can do that for the both of us?"_

Mabel finally opened her eyes, her expression awash in grief as she met the smile her brother was giving her, an impossibly brave face in light of the fact that he was slowly losing himself, even as he relayed this final message to them all. Never before had she really ever known Dipper to be so vulnerable, so open, so willing to wear his heart on his sleeve like this, even with her. But she completely understood where this honesty and sensitivity was coming from now, and she knew that it wouldn't be right of her if she didn't respect his apparent last wishes and honor them to the best of her abilities. "Y-yes…" she nodded, her eyes wide and tearful as she kept her hand against his until he finally moved it away. "Yes, I will… I-I… I promise…"

" _S-so… I… guess that's just about everyone,"_ Dipper sighed hesitantly. _"This might sound a little silly, but… I really don't want to end this whole message thing. I mean, the only thing I'm looking at right now is some high-tech Homeworld recorder but… in a way, it kind of does feel like I'm really there talking to all of you. Its… nice."_ He paused for a rather long moment, glancing down again as he seemed to struggle to collect his final thoughts. When he did speak again, he was as solemn as ever, though a flash of unknown conflict ran through his eyes all the same. _"Um… Mabel? One more thing I almost forgot. I know all of this is going to be really hard for you to explain to Mom and Dad, but when you do, please… tell them I love them. A-and you know what? I feel like it wouldn't be right if I didn't tell you the same thing: I love you, Mabel. Don't forget that. And the same goes to you, Grunkle Stan, aand you too, Great Uncle Ford. And Steven, and Connie, and Pacifica, and Lapis, and Pearl and Garnet, and Amethyst, a-and, well,_ all _of you!"_ By this point, he had taken on his biggest, most genuine smile since his message began, tears still streaming down his cheeks though they were filled with nothing but the upmost warmth and affection. Things that everyone watching felt strike a chord with them, to the point that soon enough, they all came to share that smile, as bittersweet as it was. _"You all mean_ so _much to me. I'm pretty sure you're the reason I've been able to hold out for as long as I have, a-and I can't thank you enough for that. I miss every single one of you so much, and—I might be wrong about this but—I have a feeling like you guys might be missing me too… which… makes what I'm about to ask you all so much harder."_

Everyone's smiles quickly faded into confusion at this as Dipper shook his head remorsefully. _"You all must be wondering why everything I've said here kind of sounds like one of those final will and testament sort of things. Well that's because… it kind of is. No, I'm not_ dying- _dying or anything but… if you're seeing this, then chances are you already know what happened to me by now… I don't know all the details about what m-my Diamond is going to have me do once this whole 'process' of hers is finished, but I do know it involves me hunting all of you down to… w-well, you know…"_ He closed his eyes for a moment, trembling slightly out of fear and shame over what was soon to befall him and what he was completely powerless to prevent. _"I-I already know I won't be able to do anything to stop myself after I'm… 'erased', as she calls it… So… so you'll have to stop me instead. No matter what it takes, no matter how much you won't want to hurt me, you guys_ have _to defeat me, you have to keep me from hurting any of you or anyone else for that matter. E-even if that means…"_ He trailed off briefly, holding back a sob before he looked up, his expression full of solemn resolve and acceptance. _"Even if that means you have to take me out, once and for all."_

" _NO_!" Mabel shouted, breaking through the rapt, attentive silence of everyone watching as she clenched her fists tightly at her sides. "No, we're _not_! I don't care how long we have to deal with Stonemason, we're not gonna-"

" _Of course, I know none of you will want to do something like that…"_ Dipper interupted, almost as if he was directly answering his sister. _"But… I don't think there will be any other way to protect yourselves if you don't. If you don't stop me, i-if you let me hurt any of you, then my Diamond wins. And you_ can't _let her win."_

"S-she wins either way…" Steven whispered, shaking his head mournfully. "No matter what we do, she'll always win…"

" _So… please… a-as one final request, I guess, just… do whatever you have to put an end to all of this,"_ Dipper pleaded, completely sincere as much as his own words clearly pained him as he grew steadily more unsteady, his eyes widening with brief, unknown alarm as he clutched at his chest for some reason. _"S-save yourselves, not me. Because by the next time you see me…_ I-I'll _already be long gone anyway…"_

A deep veil of sadness fell over the room as Dipper's relative calmness finally crumbled, a tight cry escaping him as he at last broke down, unable to hold his crushing grief and terror in any longer. He covered his face with his remaining hand, a cry of emotional agony escaping him, one that both Mabel and Steven echoed, albeit softer as they watched him weep uncontrollably, the effects of his ongoing suffering finally seeming to hit him all at once. All of the adults in the room were on the verge of a similar breakdown as they watched the poor, undeserving boy in front of them pour all of his heartache and fear out, none of them able to think anything else other than just how _unfair_ it was that someone so young and innocent and _good_ had to endure such unending torment.

" _I-I… I'm sorry,"_ Dipper struggled to say, placing his hand against his head as he shuddered tearfully, trying his best to push back the frightening, familiar sensation that was quickly overwhelming him. _"I… It… it's just… it_ hurts… _s-so much… I can f-feel it… i-its… g-getting... wor-orse… p-please… n-not no-ow…"_ His words started to slur into each other, his footing growing unsteady as he began to sway. He closed his eyes tightly, muttering something inaudible as the conditioning and brainwashing both hit him in yet another heavy wave, a wave that he was all too powerless to stand against. _"H-help… me… I… -m… f-fade... f-fa… m-my… Diamond… I…"_ He gradually, weakly trailed off, his eyes taking on a distant, almost glazed-over look as he stared at nothing in particular, his expression going slack as he began to, of all things, hum. It was an odd, dissonant sort of tune, broken and shaky as a result of his splintered mental state. Steven and Mabel managed to recognize the melody as a fraction of the song Yellow Diamond had sung to Blue Diamond at the human zoo, but they had no idea why Dipper would be humming such a thing here and now and in such an almost robotic, unnatural way. He had just about reached the end of the tune before he finally cut himself off with a sharp gasp, his eyes going wide as his breathing rapidly picked up and he seemed to return to his right mind again. " _N-no_! _I-I didn't… I'm not…"_ he covered his mouth, his entire body shaking by this point as he looked back to the screen, completely ashamed and distraught. _"Y-you… I… I didn't want any of you to see that… I'm_ so _sorry…"_

"Oh, Dipper…." Mabel sobbed, putting her hand against the screen once more as her heart absolutely broke in two upon witnessing exactly the kind of pain her brother had been put through firsthand. " _Please_ stop saying that… You don't have _anything_ to be sorry about…"

" _I… I don't really know what else to say…"_ Dipper said, still quite shaken as he ran his hand through his hair in a meager attempt to calm down. _"I know there's a lot I'm probably forgetting, a-and this is my last chance to get it all out but… I just… I don't think I can-"_

" _WHERE IS HE?!"_

This sudden, outraged shout seemed to come from somewhere outside the room Dipper was recording in, and the moment he heard it, a sharp, terrified gasp escaped him. _"N-no!"_ he exclaimed, snapping his attention away from the direction of the voice and to the other side of the room. _"A-Amber! You need to-"_

" _Dipper, a-are you positive?"_ Amber asked somewhere off screen, clearly every bit as frightened as he was.

" _Yes! Please! I can handle her!"_ Dipper pleaded anxiously. _"Just get out of here before she sees you!"_

There was a brief pause, followed by a worried sigh and the sound of a door sliding open and closing. Dipper only had a second to frantically look back to the screen, but not chance to say anything, before the room's other door slid open, the same harsh voice from before sounding out as he flinched away from it.

" _Oh!_ There _you are…"_ A new Gem swiftly walked into the frame, ignoring Dipper's attempts to fearfully back away from her. A Gem that both Pearl and Garnet immediately recognized from thousands of years ago.

"H-Hessonite…" Pearl whispered, her eyes wide with dread at the fearsome Homeworld commander she had personally battled during the war. The commander who clearly held some sort of role in aiding Yellow Diamond in whatever she had done to Dipper.

Hessonite was tall, to the point that she towered over the terrified boy before her, with a lean yet steadfast build. Like Amber, she was orange in coloration, her hair short, orange, and poofy, her gemstone resting at the center of her chest, and her military-esque outfit and finely trimmed, sparkling cape clearly denoting she held some level of authority. Her manner and expression were both fierce as she lashed out, easily hoisting Dipper up by the collar of his shirt and bringing him up to her level. _"What in Homeworld do you think you're doing in here?!"_ the commander hissed viciously. _"How did you even escape from your containment cell in the first place?! Those incompetent Rubies let you out, didn't they?! I'll have them shattered for this!"_

As clearly afraid as he was, Dipper opened his mouth to try and explain, but Hessonite was quick to cut him off before he had a chance. _"And as for_ you, _experiment, just wait until our Diamond finds out about this. I hear she's in a rather rare mood today, which I'm sure will entail a simply_ wonderful _time for you…"_ The commander flashed a sinister grin at this, something that clearly rattled Dipper to the core with fear as he shook his head pleadingly.

" _N-no! C-Commander Hessonite!"_ he winced at showing both this unintentional sign of respect, one that he was every bit as powerless to stop as his arm crossing his chest to form what he could of the Diamond salute. _"Please, don't tell o-our Diamond! I-I didn't… I wasn't trying to-"_

" _That's enough!"_ Hessonite snapped, responding to his desperate, tearful pleas with a brutal slap across the face before she threw him to the ground roughly. Many within the group watching gasped in horror upon watching this display of unabashed cruelty, but even so, it only continued as the commander slammed a foot down onto Dipper's chest, keeping him helplessly pinned to the ground. _"How dare you think_ you _have the right to demand_ anything _of me! Perhaps I should remind you of your place here: myself, and every single Gem on this planet, from the lowest of Pearls to the illustrious Yellow Diamond herself rank higher than you, plain and simple. You're just a weak, pathetic, feeble minded_ human _! You are_ nothing _!"_ she shouted, finally moving her foot away but only for the sake of landing a hard and heavy kick to Dipper's stomach, one that was more than enough to get him to cough up blood, but even then, she didn't stop. _"You have always_ been _nothing_!" She reeled her foot back again, managing another brutal blow that elicited a sharp cry of agony from the boy laying helplessly at her feet. _"And the only thing you will_ ever _be is a mindless drone, another blade in our Diamond's arsenal, existing solely for the sake of bringing honor and victory to her court, whether you like it or_ not _!"_ Hessonite sent one more kick, one that nearly sent Dipper into unconsciousness, though somehow he managed to hang on, though only by a feeble thread.

"How dare _he_?!" Stan exclaimed hotly, completely appalled by the unfettered abuse against his own nephew he had just witnessed. Abuse that was likely only a small sampling of all the horrors he had endured over the past few weeks. "How dare _she_ treat him like that, that crazy broad! Why I oughta-"

"Stanley!" Ford raised a hand to stop him, nodding back to the screen at just the right moment.

" _Hm? And what's this?"_ Hessonite finally took pause as she glanced towards the screen before sneering disdainfully as she glared back down at Dipper. _"Oh you've_ got _to be kidding me. You were trying to send a message back to Earth, weren't you? A desperate plea for help, perhaps? How pathetic. Not to mention a complete and utter waste of time. Didn't you hear what our Diamond told you? No one there_ cares _about you. And as soon as you go back there trying to strike them all down, they'll likely just as well do the very same to you just to save themselves!"_

" _Y-you… you're wrong…"_ Dipper coughed weakly, glaring resiliently at the commander as he struggled to pick himself back up. _"A-and so was our Diamond. They_ do _care about me, and I care about them!"_ Despite his new injuries, he forced himself to stand, his hand clenched in a tight fist at his side as stood in opposition to Hessonite, who was both shocked and disgusted by his brazenness. _"And you can torture me and brainwash me all you want, but that's something that will_ never _change!"_

"Yeah!" Amethyst cheered upon hearing this courageous resolve, Soos and Wendy readily joining in.

"Nice one, dude!"

"You tell her, Dipper!"

"Way to go, bro-bro…" Mabel whispered, smiling softly yet proudly through her remaining tears.

Hessonite, on the other hand, was far from pleased by his boldness. _"We'll just see about that…"_ she growled petulantly, grabbling Dipper tightly by his arm. She used her free hand to summon a long, sharp sword from her Gem and for a moment, everyone feared that she intended on using it on the still-defiant boy in her grip, but fortunately she pointed towards the screen instead. Something that quickly alarmed Dipper the moment she did.

" _W-wait!"_ he cried, struggling desperately to break out of her hold and reach the recorder. _"No! Don't!"_ He reached out as the commander raised her blade, but all the same, he acted quickly, tears in his eyes as he looked to the screen one last time, completely panic stricken as he said what little he had time left for. _"M-Mabel! Steven! Everyone else! Remember what I said! You have to do_ whatever _it takes to stop me! I'm sorry! I miss you! I love you a-"_

And, as Hessonite brought her blade down, the screen abruptly went white, Dipper's apparent last message cut all too short. Just like everything else pertaining to him anymore, so it seemed.

And for a moment, that white screen was all there was, leaving everyone to sit there in complete and utter silence as they took in everything they had just seen and heard. Not a single eye was dry as they remained speechless, all of them unanimously heartbroken and hopeless as they realized this would be perhaps the last time they would ever get to see or hear from Dipper as he truly was. None of them could even hope to imagine what kind of further horrors he had been subjected to in the aftermath of the screen going blank, but chances were the punishment he had faced for even such a small act of rebellion against Yellow Diamond had been severe. Yet even still, he had taken the risk of making things even worse for himself than they already had been, all for the sake of bidding his final words of love and encouragement to the friends and family he had held so dear. In a way, it was somewhat inspiring, but that inspiration was quickly forgotten as they all remembered just how horribly he had been treated on Homeworld. Even if they hadn't gotten to see Hessonite's cruelty towards him firsthand, it had been easy enough to tell how much Dipper had suffered, from the weariness in his voice, to the pain in his eyes, to absence of his let arm altogether, to way he had nearly slipped away into the void of darkness he was no lost within right before their very eyes. It was heartbreaking, truly and utterly heartbreaking, for every single one of them to get even just a glimpse of such terrors and anguish being pressed upon such a kind, courageous, brilliant, and selfless boy, a boy they all cared for and loved so deeply, a boy they wanted to get back more than they wanted _anything_ at all really. Though in light of everything they had just seen and heard, their hopes for ever getting him back seemed to plummet. For certainly if even Dipper had no clue about how to save himself from what Yellow Diamond had so maliciously done to completely and utterly ruin and corrupt his mind, then what chance did any of them have to save him?

Despite the recording Dipper had made reaching its sudden end, the overall message itself wasn't quite finished yet. For after that brief buffer period of white, Amber soon appeared on the screen once more in the same manner she had at the beginning, her expression still guilt-ridden as she addressed the group again. _"It was perhaps only about a few days after recording this message that my Diamond's plans finally reached their completion and your Dipper at last fully became her Stonemason. T-the last time I saw him, he had been right on the edge of erasure; his eyes were vacant and hunted and he would not speak, save for humbly and quietly answering only our Diamond's demands. He was nearly gone then… and yet… before he was taken away for final modifications, I promised him that I would ensure that his final message would reach you all. A-and.. if you are watching this, then it has, b-but only as a result of me going against my Diamond's wishes once more. Stonemason was indeed supposed to deliver a message to you, but it had originally been one from our Diamond, one that had been interlaced with recordings of exactly what Dipper had underwent during the process… But at the last moment, right before he was scheduled to return to Earth, I managed to replace that message module with this one instead. Now, my reasons for doing so are twofold. Firstly, because I wanted to fulfill the promise I had made to him. After all he had done for me and shown me, and for all of the suffering he had gone through, it was the very least I could have done. But my other reason… well, it actually involves all of you…"_

The group all exchanged confused glances upon hearing this, none of them quite sure about what to make of Amber's intent. It was clear from the risks she had taken and the way she spoke of him that she cared about Dipper almost as much as all of them did. But what could a Homeworld Gem none of them had ever even met before possibly want from any of them?

" _In light of my role in what ultimately happened to him, I feel as though I have no real right to ask this of any of you,"_ Amber shook her head solemnly. _"But I feel as though I must, f-for… for his sake. You may believe that your Dipper is gone… That my Diamond's cruel tactics obliterated everything he once was, leaving only the dark, twisted shadow that is Stonemason in his place. But I can assure you he is not. I strongly, firmly believe that Dipper still exists somewhere within his own mind, restricted and restrained, perhaps barely even a whisper at this point, but I_ know _he's still there. A light as bright as his does_ not _burn out so easily. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that light still persists somewhere within him. And I believe that the ones who hold the key to restoring that light to its proper brightness and freedom rests with all of you."_ The orange Gem's tone was bold now, confident, her words uplifting enough to turn the tears of her audience from dejected and morose to hopeful and assured. _"You all heard him say it himself: he loves you all and he wanted nothing more than to be with you again. A-and even despite how things might seem, it's not too late for that to happen. He would often tell myself and the Rubies stories about you all, of the kindness and valor of the Crystal Gems and their 'Steven', the heroic sacrifice of 'Grunkle Stan' and the inspiring wisdom of 'Great Uncle Ford', of the Lapis Lazuli whom he trusted so deeply, his friendly duels with 'Connie', the love he had for 'Pacifica', a-and the one he spoke of the most fondly of, his 'sister'—a word I'm still uncertain of the meaning of, to be perfectly honest—'Mabel."_

Mabel sobbed for what seemed like the hundredth time at this, the thought of her brother still taking the time to think of her amidst his own agony warming her and breaking her all at once. Still, she couldn't help but smile, hope steadily filling her as she continued listening to Amber's encouraging words. _"When I heard those stories, I envisioned a group held every ounce of love towards him that he had for them. It's a profound concept, something we don't really have here on Homeworld, but I've seen it before; it's something I observed among the humans in the zoo as well and it has led me to reach this hypothesis: humans, as bizarre creatures as they are, require love and hope in order to survive. Those things are as vital to them as the air they breathe and the water they are largely composed of. They strengthen, they renew, they sustain human beings, and they guide them to where they truly belong. If the brief time I had with Dipper taught me anything, it was that. For the love he had for all of you was what kept him alive; it was what helped him carry on and endure even the worst that my Diamond put him through, up until the very last moment. And it is what I am certain will bring him back to all of you."_

Amber's speech continued, a bright, optimistic smile on her face even as tears brimmed in her piercingly bright golden eyes. _"You, his friends, his companions, his 'family', are the only ones who can return him to the way he is truly supposed to be. Through your love and through your hope, you can return his lost light to him, I know it. S-so please… I implore you: rescue him. Free his heart and restore his mind. Help him become that boy who held such a fire in his eyes again, the boy who inspired me to think and act in ways I was never meant to. A-and when you do, please, tell him I said… thank you… for everything…"_ A tear finally did slip down the orange Gem's cheek at this as she nodded graciously, preparing to finally sign off. _"And so, with that, I entrust your Dipper back to you. I know that together, you all can show him the love he so sorely missed here… and through that, you can guide him back home, where he truly belongs. Thank you."_

The message module finally shut off at this, the glow fading from it as it abruptly fell back to the floor, its message erased from it now that it had been delivered. For what seemed like ages, no one said anything, but the tearful smiles on all of their faces were undeniable as they felt their sprits soar for the first time in ages. How strange it was that an unknown Homeworld Gem, of all people, would be the one to encourage them and call them all to action in the midst of these dire times. And yet, her words had resonated with every single one of them, giving them much needed hope and assurance that Dipper was not gone forever, that he _could_ be freed from the mental prison Yellow Diamond had trapped him in. True, it likely wouldn't be easy to break past Stonemason's hateful, violent, unrelenting presence to reach what really lay beyond it, to reach what he was really meant to be. But as long as they determination that Dipper himself had shown and the love that Amber had spoken of in their hearts, perhaps they could finally find a way to set things right, once and for all.

And so, with newfound purpose in her step, Mabel walked up to the defunct module and hugged it close, one final tear slipping down her cheek as she smiled, clinging onto every word of love her brother had said in his supposed last farewell. Something that she refused to let be his last, because very soon, she hoped to bid him a long-awaited hello instead. "Well, you heard the Gem," Mabel smiled brazenly as she turned back to the others. "It's about time we bring Dipper home, don't you think?"

Everyone was quick to agree on this, a rush of excitement and happiness filling the room as Stan and Ford both proudly embraced their niece for her drive to bring her brother back. And from there, everyone was quick to jump back into planning and strategizing once more, though this time, they were by far more united and passionate about their work. In a way, despite what had happened towards the end of his message, just _seeing_ Dipper again was enough to inspire them and motivate them to work harder than ever to save him. But Amber's encouraging speech had been what raised them up, what assured them that there was a way to fix all of this, that they _could_ fix this themselves. And that's exactly what they intended on doing as they worked long into the night, refusing to give up or lose hope until Dipper was finally back, safe and free in their arms, once more.

However, what none of the group inside the shack was aware of as the message reached its end was the figure perched atop a tree branch just outside, one who had watched the recording in its entirety through the open window. And suffice to say, Stonemason was anything but pleased by what he had seen. He knew from the very beginning that this message had not been the one his Diamond had wanted delivered to the group inside, but now he had obtained the information that some random Amber had swapped it out for something else, an act of rebellion he planned on reporting to the Gem matriarch soon enough. But for now, the assassin was actually rather confused, a feeling he wasn't quite acquainted with. By all accounts, the boy in that message had been almost identical to him, and apparently he was that mythical 'Dipper' that the pink-clad human so often cried about whenever they encountered each other. Yet that couldn't possibly be correct; Stonemason knew that 'Dipper' was nothing more than a lie, a falsehood conjured by Rose Quartz and her comrades to try and trip him up and divert him away from his mission. Yellow Diamond had firmly assured him multiple times that this was the case. But then what of that message? The way the rebels had reacted to it was far too genuine and raw for it to be anything of their own design, which meant that it had to come from somewhere else. Even if the Amber had been the one to put it all together and slip it onto his transport vessel, that still didn't explain the boy in the message itself. Certainly, Stonemason knew, there was no way him and that weak, sniveling, absolutely pathetic human were one and the same. It was impossible, foolish, asinine, completely out of the question.

And yet… as he watched that message come to an end, something strange stirred within the assassin, a sense of familiarity and something else, an emotion he had no real frame of reference for. His metallic hand gripped the side of the tree he was standing on tighter, to the point that his fingers dug into the bark as an odd, unknown warm sparked behind his eyes. Whatever this feeling was, Stonemason couldn't comprehend it, nor could he stand the sudden wave of unexplainable weakness and longing that washed over him as he witnessed the two older humans embrace the pink-clad one with tearful smiles on all of their faces. But what caught the assassin off the most was the drop of water that, out of nowhere, had started rolling down his cheek. Stonemason drew in a soft, startled breath as he reached a hand up to his face, realizing this wetness was unexplainably coming from his eyes, his face still uncomfortably warm as that stirring sensation inside of him grew stronger, brighter, as if something was trying to break out of him entirely. And as unfamiliar and alarming as it all was, Stonemason was quick to put a stop to all of it.

Without a word, Stonemason wiped his mysterious tears away, forcefully and silently reminding himself of his mission. The sensation slowly began to quell, especially as he glared back towards his unwitting enemies with frustrated hatred for what they had somehow managed to do to him, even from afar. Still, this was a bout of weakness he refused to experience ever again as he departed, slipping away into the night with the intent of completing his task and destroying them all in the name of his Diamond once and for all.

But what Stonemason was unaware of was in that moment, a dim, but still pure and persistent light began to flicker within the assassin's darkened, corrupted soul. And it would only be a matter of time before that light, fueled by the love and hope of friends and family, would burn bright once more.

* * *

 **AHAHAHAHAH SO WHO ELSE CRIED A LOT THROUGHOUT THIS WHOLE THING CAUSE I CERTAINLY CRIED WHILE WRITING IT! But yeah, like I said this was really, really tearjerking and it kinda hurt me to write. But I was super motivated to work on it, mostly cause I needed to dip my toes in some angst before getting to NWHS (which I'm gonna start pretty soon!) So if you liked it, (or if it hurt you just as much as it hurt me) then please don't forget to leave a REVIEW! Until next time (which will probably just be another drabble collection but ah well lol) :D**


	5. Relativity Drabbles Collection 1

_Hey hey hey! Time for another drabble collection before I post the next oneshot I'm workin on here! The common theme amongst all these drabbles is that they're all from the Relativity/Gem Kids AU, which goes as follows:_

 _Relativity/Gem Kids: An age swap AU, where Dipper and Mabel have taken on Stan and Ford's roles and vice versa. So Stan and Ford are the young twins visiting their Gruntie Mabel for the summer, all while she secretly tries to bring her long lost brother Dipper back from the portal. On the SU side of things, Steven is also an adult (he's been around for at least a century, but because of his aging powers, he doesn't look a day over 30), while due to… rather severe circumstances, the Crystal Gems have been forced into young, semi-human childish forms with no memories of their past lives. So the bulk of this AU is the Stan twins befriending the young Gems and getting into shenanigans and whatnot._

 _So yeah since this AU lends itself so nicely to a lot of very cute situations and dynamics a lot of these are just that: adorable. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 _Prompt: "Do you love her?"  
Characters: Adult Steven, Kid Garnet  
Setting: Just some cuteness between Adult Steven and Kid Garnet prior to Steven admitting he's head over heels for Connie lol_

Garnet sat silently on the couch as she watched Steven anxiously pace about the living room, muttering worriedly to himself all the while. The young fusion didn't often make use of her romantic expertise in doling out advice to her guardian, but she figured that now was as good a time as any to do just that, if only for the sake of setting his nerves to ease.

"Steven?" Garnet finally spoke up, her tone as calm as ever.

"Ah! Garnet?!" the adult Gem gasped in surprise as he spun around to face her. "H-how long have you been sitting there?"

"For about an hour."

"An hour?" Steven blinked. "Man, I must really be out of it if I didn't even notice you for that long…"

"I don't blame you," Garnet shrugged. "You have every reason to be distracted after all."

"Tell me about it…" the adult Gem sighed tiredly as he joined her on the couch. The young fusion did hesitate to take up her usual spot on his lap, frowning as she noticed him staring up at the ceiling with an expression of clear dread.

"So when are you going to ask her?" Garnet asked, breaking the bout of silence between them.

"Who? Connie?" Steven glanced down at his young ward, who only nodded. "I… I really don't know. Heck, I honestly don't even know _how_ I'm going to propose to her, much less when…"

"Are you scared?" the young fusion inquired out of mere curiosity.

"N-no!" the adult Gem protested, flustered. "It's just… I'm worried. I've never done this before and I don't really know how this sort of thing is supposed to even work! What if I mess it up somehow? Or what if I get so nervous that I can't even get the question out? Or what if I do everything right but she still says no?!"

"So you _are_ scared, then?"

Steven paused, his eyes wide as he looked to his young charge, but his surprise soon turned into a defeated grin. "Nothing gets past you, does it, Garnet?"

The young fusion smiled slightly as she shook her head, but she let another brief moment of pass before posing another singular question. "Steven… do you love her?"

Once again, Steven seemed to be taken aback by this question, but even so, he gave her what was nothing less than the most sincere reply possible. "Of course, I love her," he said with a warm, fond smile. "I… I don't think I've ever felt this way about _anyone_ before, and that's saying something since I've been around for a pretty long time now. But Connie, she's just… she's so… she…" The adult Gem let out a sigh of contentment as he closed his eyes and thought about the woman he adored. "She's so smart, and fun, and nice, and beautiful, and _amazing_ … Whenever I'm with her, it feels like everything wrong with the world just sort of… goes away, you know? But best of all is that there's no question in my mind that she loves you and Amethyst and Pearl; and _that's_ what really made me fall in love with her."

Garnet smiled fully upon hearing all this, especially upon seeing just how genuinely happy Steven was while simply talking about Connie. And it was for that very reason that she had no problems giving her guardian just the confidence boost he needed. "Then don't worry," she assured, placing a hand against his arm as he smiled down at her softly. "If you really love her, then you'll know what to say."

* * *

 _Prompt: Where are your parents?  
Characters: Kid Garnet, Kid Pearl, Kid Amethyst  
Setting: Some Gem kids shenanigans _

"Three tickets to _Return of the Shark-People Part 3,_ please."

The woman at the ticket counter glanced down from her magazine to look at the trio of young Gems standing before her. Seeing as how Pearl was by far the best at dealing with adults, she had unanimously appointed herself to be the one to do all the talking, as Garnet made sure that Amethyst would remain quiet so they get into the film without any issues. Yet even still, the cashier wasn't about to sell them their tickets so easily.

"Uh… ok, but… you three do know that this movie is rated PG-13, right?" she asked with a patient smile.

"Oh yes," Pearl nodded with an amicable smile, one that was laced with clear hints of fear that their plan wouldn't work. "We're quite aware of that."

"We've already seen the first two parts," Garnet spoke up calmly.

"Well, that's fine and everything but…" the cashier's grin faded to a frown. "You kids really don't look like you're 13… are you?"

The young Gems exchanged a nervous glance at this, but unfortunately for Garnet and Pearl, neither of them were really able to do anything to stop Amethyst from blurting the honest truth out. "We dunno how old we are," the purple Gem replied with an innocent shrug.

The cashier blinked upon hearing this, aptly puzzled. "…Ok… well, where are your parents? If they come with you to see the movie, then I can let you in, no problem."

"Parents?" Pearl tilted her head in confusion. "Oh, you must mean Steven! Well, he's not really around today since he's on a mission."

"Yeah and he said it was totally fine for us to come and see _Return of the Shark-People 3_!" Amethyst added, hopeful as she hopped up to the counter. "Come on, lady, just let us in! We wanna see those sharks rip people limb from limb!"

"Actually, I'm just here to see where the romantic subplot from the last movie goes," Garnet remarked dryly.

"Look, kids, I'm sorry, but I can't let you in to see a PG-13 movie without a parent," the cashier shook her head. "But maybe you can come back with your dad sometime and see it, ok?"

"Ok…" Pearl sighed in defeat, turning to head off as Amethyst and Garnet did the same.

"Aw, man!" the purple Gem scowled as she kicked a stray can on the sidewalk. "This sucks! What are we gonna do now?! I already got in trouble for sneaking into the movie theater twice last month, I don't want Steven to reduce my allowance _again_."

"Wait," Garnet cut in, placing a shoulder on each of her teammates' shoulders. "We don't need to sneak in. I have a better idea…"

"One for _Return of the Shark-People part 3_."

The cashier was quite taken aback upon looking up from her magazine to see the very tall, rather imposing figure standing at the counter. The magenta skin, mint mane of hair, six independently moving arms and six different-sized eyes, threw her off in particular, but even so, she was in no place to refuse the woman's request. "Y-yes, ma'am," the cashier quickly rung them up for a ticket, giving it to them with a shaky hand.

"Thank you," the fusion nodded, holding onto the coveted ticket tightly as she continued on into the theater. Alexandrite suppressed a sly smile as she made it past the ticket counter, muttering something only to herself as she did so. "Told you it would work."

* * *

 _Prompt: I'm soaked!  
Characters: Kid Lapis, Kid Peridot_  
 _Setting: Some baby Lapidot snark for all your baby Lapidot snark needs_

Lapis raised a caustic eyebrow as she looked her roommate up and down. "Yeah, and?"

"And I know you had something to do with it!" Peridot huffed, slicking her now dripping hair back.

"Oh really? You think so?" Lapis asked, trying her hardest not to break down laughing.

"Yes, I do! And I'm gonna tell on you for it!"

"Nobody likes a tattle tale, Peridot," the blue Gem rolled her eyes.

"I'm not a tattle tale!" Peridot shouted.

"Oh yeah? Then if you're not a tattle tale, then I guess you won't tell Steven about this, right?" Lapis asked with a knowing smile.

The green Gem sucked in a deep breath, only to let it out as she realized Lapis had managed to outsmart her yet again. "Right…" she grumbled in defeat, storming off as the blue Gem chuckled to herself all the while.

* * *

 _Prompt: Where's the first aid kit?  
Characters: Adult Steven, Kid Garnet, Kid Amethyst, Kid Pearl  
Setting: A little angst and fluff with Steven and the Gem kids ^_^_

Pearl's panicked explanation rung throughout the house as she continued running around, searching the cabinets for any sign of said kit. Amethyst, Garnet, and Steven all watched her for a moment before the adult Gem finally decided to speak up.

"Pearl, calm down," Steven tried, only for the white Gem to immediately cut him off.

"Calm down? _Calm_ down?! How can we be calm, Steven!" Pearl shouted frantically. "Garnet cracked one of her Gems! You told us that something terrible would happen if any of us cracked our Gems, and… and…"

"I know what I told you guys. But it's ok, really," Steven reassured, kneeling down next to Garnet. The tears were running down the fusion's face as she held onto her wrist, a small crack running down Ruby's gemstone on her palm. "Let me guess…" the adult Gem mused, looking the injury over. "You tried to punch something without your gauntlets?"

Garnet nodded, sniffling softly from the pain her cracked gem caused. Steven smiled with understanding before, grabbing her hand and gently kissing the damaged stone. It briefly sparkled with telltale magic for a moment, before the crevice sealed itself closed, completely healed.

"Whaaaat?!" all three young Gems exclaimed in unified awe upon seeing this, looking to Steven with complete disbelief.

"Whoa, how did you do that?!" Amethyst asked, amazed.

"Oh that?" the adult Gem smirked as he stood. "What, I never told you guys about my healing spit?" The trio of Gems looked to each other this time, their mouths all hanging agape, dumbfounded. "Huh…" Steven frowned. "Guess I didn't… Well, I guess you know now! Pretty cool, huh?"

Garnet was the first to smile as she looked over her now-fixed gem. "Yeah. Pretty cool."

* * *

 _Prompt: Are you five?  
Characters: Adult Dipper, Kid Jasper, Kid Lapis, Kid Amethyst  
Setting: Probably set during a hypothetical redemption arc for kid Jasper, who's basically an ill-tempered bully in this AU lol_

"Because you sure are acting like you are," Dipper finished, crossing his arms as he sent a critical frown down to the diminutive orange Gem.

"Ohhhhh!" Lapis and Amethyst exclaimed with unified intrigue, especially when they noticed just how infuriated Jasper was over it.

"Five? FIVE?" Jasper practically shouted, her expression alight with rage. "How dare you you say something like that about me! I'm not only the best Gem on this stupid planet, but I'm way better than any of dumb old human, especially one like _you_!"

The orange Gem continued to rant and rave as she often did, shouting threats and insults out with every word. Her heated anger only continued as Dipper easily picked her up and held her at an arms length as she thrashed and kicked out.

"Where did Steven say the timeout corner was again?" he asked the other two young Gems.

"It's that one," Lapis said, nodding to the nearest corner with an amused smirk.

"Thank you," Dipper said, already taking the misbehaving Jasper over to it.

"W-wait, no! You can't put me in time out _again_!" Jasper exclaimed, struggling even moresoe no. "This will be the fourth time today! I'll be good, I promise!"

"Sure you will, Jasper," Dipper deadpanned as Lapis and Amethyst burst into a fit of laughter. "Sure you will."

* * *

 _Prompts: Remember that really embarrassing memory you told me to never speak of again?  
Characters: Adult Steven, Adult Connie, Kid CG  
Setting: Whenever really, just some cute stuff showing that Steven's still a kid at heart, no matter how old he is ^_^_

Steven's face instantly became bright red the moment Amethyst innocently said this, seeing as how he immediately knew what she was talking about. "Uh… y-yeah. But we don't need to tell Ms. Connie about it, ok?"

"Tell me about what?" Connie asked with a bemused grin.

"Oh, well there was this one time-" Pearl began, but the adult Gem was quick to interrupt her.

"O-ok!" Steven exclaimed, flustered. "You know what? It's getting kinda late. Why don't you guys head off to bed?"

"Aw, but Steven!" Amethyst protested with a playful whine. "We wanna tell Ms. Connie about the time you-"

"About the time I… I gave you each five dollars to head up to bed!" Steven laughed somewhat awkwardly.

"Isn't that a bribe?" Pearl asked with a frown.

"If it is, it's a bribe I'll totally take!" Amethyst exclaimed, holding her hand out. The adult Gem sighed but smiled nonetheless as he handed each of the young Gems a five dollar bill each. And then, of course, as soon as Garnet had her money, she happened to blurt out exactly what Steven didn't want Connie hearing.

"One time, Steven was pretending his bubble was a hamster wheel and he accidentally crashed into the side of the Mystery Shack," the fusion said stoically. "Good night."

Steven gasped, alarmed and even more embarrassed as Connie burst out laughing at this. "Garnet!"

* * *

 _Prompt: Wanna see something cool?  
Characters: Kid Pearl, Kid Ford  
Setting: Some cuteness between these two tiny nerds because sure ^_^_

"A Gem thing? Of course!" Ford readily agreed, already preparing to jot down notes in the journal on it. "What is it?"

"I learned a new power!" Pearl proclaimed proudly. "Look!" With a dramatic wave of her hands, the gem on her forehead shined radiantly as it began to project what seemed to be a perfect holographic copy of herself. "Ta da!"

"Whoa!" Ford gasped, aptly awestruck. His jaw hung agape as he stepped up to Pearl's holographic double, careful not to disturb it, lest it dissipate into thin air. "Pearl, this is amazing! How'd you figure this out?"

"Mostly on accident," Pearl shrugged, still smiling. "I wanted someone to practice swordfighting with, but Garnet, Amethyst, and Steven were all busy. So… I just made my own sparring partner."

"Wait, so it can fight too?" Ford asked, looking to the white Gem in amazement

"Uh huh," Pearl nodded, summoning her spear as her hologram did the same. "You wanna see?"

Ford could only really nod in response to this, making sure to stand a safe distance away as Pearl and the hologram crossed swords.

" _Are you ready to engage in combat?"_ the hologram asked stiffly.

Pearl grinned daringly, gripping her spear tightly as she prepared to show off and impress Ford even more. "You know I am."

* * *

 _Prompt: Are you drunk?  
Characters: Adult Mabel, Adult Dipper, Adult Steven  
Setting: Some grown up shenanigans and humor; let's just say Mabel can be a bit... eccentric when she gets older lol_

"No, but I think brainiac over there might be," Mabel hiccuped with a lax grin. Concerned, Steven looked over to Dipper for an explanation.

"Yes, she is," he rolled his eyes, his usual stoic manner showing far too much for him to be anything but sober. " She went out with Candy and Grenda earlier and had one too many strawberry daiquiris."

" _You_ had one too many strawberry daiquiris, bro-bro," Mabel chuckled loosely.

"Is… she going to be ok?" Steven asked with apt worry. "I don't really know a whole lot about this sort of thing… Should we get the Gems? Wake the boys? Call a hospital? Would my healing spit come in handy?"

"Steven, it's ok," Dipper reassured, somewhat amused. "She'll be fine. She just needs to sleep it off. And when she does, she'll probably have a pretty nasty hangover tomorrow morning. Honestly, it serves her right for being so irresponsible."

"'Blah, blah, blah, I'm Dipper and I'm _so_ boring'," Mabel mocked, still lying upside down on the couch. "You're just all pouty cause you're a lightweight."

"A what?" Steven asked, still confused.

"It's nothing," Dipper said with a wave of his hand. "Mabel, don't you think you're a little old to be acting like you're a still a teenager?"

"I dunno," Mabel shrugged. "Don't you think you're a little old to…" She trailed off into a slur, one that eventually faded as she fell into a druken daze.

"Mabel?" Steven prepared to go and rouse her, but Dipper was quick to stop him.

"Don't bother, Steven. Like I said, she'll be fine after she sleeps it off."

* * *

 _Prompt: We can't keep this up forever.  
Characters: Adult Steven, Adult Connie  
Setting: Some Steven/Connie romantic fluff and angst because why not?_

Connie couldn't deny she was completely caught off guard by the sudden sadness in Steven's tone, a sadness that filled his eyes as he averted her gaze in favor of staring up at the night sky. "W-what do you mean?"

He sighed, the smallest hint of despair etched into his expression as he closed his eyes. "I mean… I'm not like you are, Connie. I'm half Gem."

"Well, yes…" Connie noted, not sure of where he was going with this. "I've known that pretty much from the beginning, Steven. It's never really bothered me before."

"N-no, that's not-" Steven cut himself off, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I didn't really know how to tell you this before now but I… I'm over _100 years old_ , Connie."

"W-what?" Connie blinked, bewildered as Steven nodded in solemn confirmation. Still, she didn't seem to fully believe him as she let out a small sardonic chuckle a moment later. "Oh, good one! You know you really had me going for a second there, but then I realized that's just ridiculous! You don't look a day over 35!"

"Well I-I am," Steven glanced down guiltily. "A lot of days over 35 in fact. To be honest… that was kinda when I decided to stop aging. Perks of being a hybrid, I guess."

All of Connie's former levity completely dissipated upon hearing this, her eyes widening as she looked the half Gem over incredulously. "Wait… so… you mean… you'll never age?"

"Well, I dunno about _never_ ," Steven shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, I can if I really _want_ to, but… it's complicated now. I wanna be there for the Gems as they're growing up, which is something Gems aren't even supposed to _do_ , but here they are, and I can't let myself get too old or else I won't be able to keep up with them. But then there's you."

"Me?"

"Connie," he sighed once more as he took her hands in his. "I've seen a lot of couples throughout my life, and I've watched a lot of those couples grow old and happy together. A-and… I want that for us, I do, but… that's just not something I feel like I can commit myself to… I mean, even if I did decide to age along with you, then, there'd eventually come a day where you'd… you'll…" Steven finally choked up at this, pulling his hand away from hers at such a heartbreaking thought. "I feel like no matter what happens between us, I know how this is gonna end…" he finally continued, his voice but an almost broken whisper now. "I've never loved another human like I love you, a-and the thought of losing you, i-it… it's… I…"

"Losing me?" Connie spoke up, her voice as gentle as her touch as she placed a supportive hand against his arm. "Steven, you're not going to lose me."

"I will one day!" the half Gem practically sobbed. "I know I will! That's just how it works! A-and that's why we can't keep this up. Because I don't think I'd _ever_ be able to get over that…"

Connie kept silent for a long time, her expression filled with pity more for Steven than for herself. Her hand never once left his arm though as she tried to piece reassurance she wanted to give him together, before deciding on something much simpler instead.

"This may not last forever," she began, leaning in to give him a soft, loving kiss on the cheek. "But I want to enjoy every single second we have of it while it does last." Despite his former dejection, this comforting resolve didn't fail to finally elicit a smile from Steven, one that told him everything he needed to know. That above all else, she would be worth both the bliss and the pain, when it inevitably came. And until that pain came, he would love her, with every ounce of love his heart had to give, love that would last even long after she was gone.

"Me too."

* * *

 _Prompt: Not sure if you could tell, but I'm not exactly a people person.  
Characters: Adult Dipper, Kid Lapis  
Setting: Just some cuteness between these two; I'd like to think they have something of a father/daughter dynamic in this AU, its very cute. _

"Hm," Lapis noted, her wings dissipating as she landed to take a seat beside the author. "You know, now that ya mention it, I don't think I'm a people person either. Or, I guess a people _Gem_. Or would it be a Gem person? Oh great, now I'm all confused…"

Dipper couldn't help but laugh at this as the blue Gem playfully stuck her tongue out before breaking into a wry smirk herself in response to his amusement. "You? Not a people person—or, _Gem_ , rather? For some reason I find that hard to believe."

"Well believe it!" Lapis crossed her arms. "People are the _worst_. They're so annoying and they got make, like, all these dumb things that they think makes 'em travel faster like cars or those big flying metal birds. They'd get places so much faster if they just had wings of their own, like I do! So yeah, people are _lame_ , no doubt about it."

"Well, you do know I just so happen to be a person, right?" Dipper asked, raising an eyebrow though he was still grinning all the while.

"Oh yeah, but you're different, Mr. Dipper," Lapis remarked with a wave of her hand as she hopped onto his lap.

"Oh really? And how am I 'different'?"

The blue Gem paused, taking a moment to consider this before shrugging simply. "I dunno, you just are. You're like, really cool and stuff. Plus, you're just about the only grown up person who doesn't treat me like a kid _all_ the time. Just some of the time."

"Well, you _are_ technically a kid, Lapis," Dipper reminded. "Or at least I _think_ you are. The whole case with all of you Gems de-aging is still a bit of a mystery to me, but all the same, I think its safe to say that even if I'm not exactly a people person _or_ a Gem person, as you put it, then you'd be the one Gem or person I'd always make an exception for."

"Right back at ya, Mr. Dipper!" Lapis grinned with a hearty thumbs up, even if she was admittedly a little lost. "Whatever all that means."

* * *

 _Prompt: Go back to bed.  
Characters: Adult Steven, Kid Amethyst  
Setting: Some Steven angst because even in this AU he blames himself for literally everything_

Despite his best efforts to remain on even ground with Mabel for the kids' sakes, Steven knew that the inevitable falling out would come at some point or another, and it had. Fortunately, neither the twins nor the Gems had been present for it, but even so, the conwoman's words rung out in Steven's mind like a bell. _"Some kind of 'friend' you were to him. The only reason he's gone is because of you!"_

This line of reasoning was really nothing new to the half Gem. Really, it had plagued him almost constantly ever since he first received the horrible news that their ill-fated collaborative project had ended up accidentally whisking Dipper away from their dimension altogether. But even so, hearing Mabel, of all people reiterate this painful point still hurt Steven in ways that he hadn't anticipated. In fact, he had been unable to think of really anything else all day, which was why, as soon as he was sure the Gems had gone to sleep, he had taken to letting the night air clear his thoughts for him as he stood, leaning against the porch railing. Every now and then, his gaze drifted down towards the Mystery Shack, his guilt surfacing more and more each time, though he'd always force his sights back up to the stars before it became too unbearable. But in the end, the half Gem knew he couldn't really deny his own feelings of longstanding remorse and regret, feelings that he had been suppressing for far too long now.

Which was why, even though it had been quite some time since he had actually looked at it, Steven slowly pulled an old, worn photograph out of his pocket, sighing wistfully as he took in the sight of it once more. It had been taken over 30 years ago, of course, and featured what Steven had always like to refer to as "the gang", aid gang consisting of himself, Dipper, and the Gems in their formerly adult forms. In the photo, all of them were smiling, save for Pearl as her expression was awash in surprise as Amethyst dropped down onto her shoulders from above with a rowdy laugh. Even so, Garnet was smirking in amusement over this, even though her sights were set on the camera. Steven's grin was the widest by far as he had one hand on Garnet's shoulder and the other on Dipper's, who's own smile was a bit more conservative but still warm and bright nonetheless. The half Gem couldn't help but chuckle over the memory of the picture being taken, hot off the heels of the completion of Dipper's first journal cataloguing the anomalies of Gravity Falls, something that Steven and the Gems had helped exponentially in putting together. Really, it had been something of a team effort, and therefore, it had called for a team celebration, and a celebration it had been. One that Steven still remembered fondly even 30 years later, even after so much had changed and so much had gone wrong.

The half Gem's smile gradually vanished as his mind returned to the present, to his own guilt about his palpable role in ruining everything they had all once cherished. Admittedly, Steven often wondered if, somewhere on the other side of that cursed portal, if Dipper was still alive, if he still looked back on those innocent days as fondly as the half Gem did. Because if he didn't, then Steven knew he would be the only one left to remember the past with longing instead of disdain. And that was a burden the half Gem wasn't sure he really wanted to bear.

"Steven?"

He was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts as he heard the door open behind him, only to turn and see a very sleepy purple Gem stepping out from behind it. "Amethyst?" he asked with a concerned frown. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Bad dream…" she muttered, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Again?" Steven asked as he easily picked her up. Amethyst simply nodded, her eyes struggling to stay open as she failed to fight back a yawn. "Man, you guys have really been having a hard time with those lately, huh? Well, in any case, I think you need to go back to bed, kiddo."

"No way," Amethyst protested with a drowsy pout. "I'm not even… tired…" She trailed off, her head drooping as Steven began to carry her back into the house.

"Suuuure, you're not," Steven chuckled, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

"Hey, Steven?" Amethyst asked, blinking her eyes open again as she dropped her voice down to a whisper as not to wake Garnet or Pearl. "What's that picture ya got there?"

Steven took in a sharp breath at this, glancing over at the picture that was right within the purple Gem's reach. Still, he was quick to collect himself, knowing that it still wasn't the right time to tell any of them, as he promptly put it away. "Oh nothing," he said with faux apathy, even if how he really felt about the entire situation was anything but that. "Just some boring adult stuff."

* * *

 **And thems all the Relativity/Gem Kids I got for ya today. Maybe I'll eventually post more once I write more. Either way this AU is a lot of fun and I like it a lot! As for what I have planned next time, well its gonna be another mountain of angst because every actual oneshot I post here is an angst bundle for some reason so have this bundle of mostly fluff in the meantime! Enjoy and don't forget to REVIEW! Until next time!**


	6. Water Pines: Dead in the Water

AHAHAHAH OH THE ANGST TRAIN IS HERE And yeah lemme just warn ya'll that this one? Is ANGSTY and SAD as hell. So… if ya aint into that you probably won't like this one cause there's like, no fluff to be found here whatsoever. But yeah anyway, for those of you who don't know what this AU is, allow me to fill you in:

 _Water Pines AU:_ Essentially a shoot off from Sock Opera where Dipper makes a rather _different_ deal with Bill, one that he doesn't get a lot of information on before making it. What this deal basically does is switch Dipper and Lapis around quite literally, turning Lapis into a human and freeing her from Malachite while turning Dipper into a Gem and tossing him into the lake with Jasper. Its sad and angsty and dramatic as can be and if you want more info about it then you can find some (as well as some art I drew for it) here: minijenn . tumblr post / 172239926054 /minijenn-local-kid-fucks-himself-over-by-making (just take the spaces out and you'll get there)

And finally, I should inform you that this is a two parter and I don't know when I'll actually get around to writing part 2 but I got burnt out trying to make it one part so yah, basically what ya see is what ya get until I eventually write the second part. And so with that stupidly long explanation outta the way, let's get onto the PAIN!

* * *

 _Water Pines_

 _Dead in the Water_

" _Ya know, Pine Tree,"_ Bill casually continued his appeal, an appeal that Dipper had no intentions of taking seriously, though out of morbid curiosity, he halfheartedly listened nonetheless as he watched the laptop continue to steadily tick down. _"What happened to Water Wings is just plain tragic, it really is. I mean, just think about it: she's locked down there at the bottom of that grimy lake, having just a_ grand _old time duking it out with Stripes and spending every waking moment in an endless sea of misery and torment and its all—your—fault!"_

"Don't remind me…" Dipper muttered despondently, guiltily glancing over at the pile of photos of him and Lapis. Reminders of peaceful, happy times that only existed in the distant past now, times that certainly would never come to be ever again. Unless…

" _But as 'sad' as it all is, kid, I could fix it all up for you, nice and easy!"_ Bill quipped, his tone as bright and deceptively cheery as ever. _"And luckily for you, I'm willing to let you off by only asking for something small in return; in fact, you won't even notice the difference!"_

"You still haven't bothered to tell me what that 'something' is, by the way," Dipper remarked, sending the dream demon a distrustful glare.

" _Huh, guess you do have a point there,"_ Bill shrugged. _"Alrighty then, what I want from_ you _, Pine Tree, is something_ sooooo _easy that I'm sure you won't even have time to think twice about it once the deal is sealed! And that something is… drumroll please!"_ At this, the demon snapped his fingers, materializing a self-rolling snare drum out of thin air before making his supposedly daunting proclamation, which ended up being not so apparently daunting at all. _"I want you to stay out of my way!"_

"Wait… what?" Dipper asked, largely caught off guard by this confusing request.

" _You heard me, kid!"_ Bill said succinctly. _"All your 'mystery hunting' this summer has gotten you way to close to some answers that you shouldn't be finding, cause if you did, it'd just about ruin everything I've been planning for_ centuries _now. But instead of coming up with some sort of cockamamie scheme to, oh, I don't know, hijack your body and use it to destroy that journal of yours before flinging your empty skin off the water tower or some hypothetical screwball plan like that, I decided I'd save a whole lot of time and effort by cutting this problem off at the source! So all I'm really asking here is for you to put the breaks on all your little investigations and let me have my fun. See? I told you it was something simple!"_

"Hold it so… you… just want me to stop looking into the mysteries of Gravity Falls?" Dipper frowned, still bewildered by how straightforward this all seemed. "And that's… it?"

" _Well, that's_ mostly _it,"_ Bill shrugged nonchalantly. _"There's… another small little tidbit in this contract too, something that'll make sure you keep up your end of the bargain."_

"And… that something is…?"

" _Aw, come on, Pine Tree, you don't want me ruining_ all _my surprises, do you?"_ Bill asked coyly. _"Let's just say you can expect a bit of a… change, but I'm sure you'll get used to it eventually! Plus… at this point its just about your only sure-fire way to dredge poor Water Wings up out of both that fusion and that lake. After all, you don't even know if that dusty old laptop over there could even help anything at all, so why not go with the safer route? I'm sure if she were in your place, Water Wings would do the same thing for you—oh wait! She basically already did by trapping herself down there with Stripes. Don't you think its about time_ you _returned the favor, kid?"_

It was, it really was, and this was something Dipper had felt from the very moment he realized that Lapis would be trapped in that lake possibly forever if nothing was done to rescue her. And up until now, that was an effort he hadn't found too much hope in, his spirits dropping every time he so much as thought of the blue Gem, struggling and suffering all because of her clear, devoted dedication to him. Dedication that Dipper largely felt undeserving of, for he knew he hadn't really demonstrated it towards her in return. And yet… now he could, in such a simple, easy way too. True, he loved investigating the boundless, incredible wonders to be found in Gravity Falls, and he knew with every one he uncovered, he drew closer to unraveling the entire mystery that was the town and its baffling strangeness. But at the same time, Lapis had become one of the best and closest friends he had ever come to know in the short time that they had together. Her sacrifice for him alone was proof enough of that. And it was a sacrifice that Dipper felt more than ready to honor by making one of his own, if only it meant that they could finally be together in safety, happiness, and freedom once more.

And so, that's exactly what he did.

Dipper saw no point in exchanging any more deliberation on the matter as he watched Bill extend a hand out in offering, unnatural blue flames sparking around it. He hesitated, only briefly, upon remembering the dream demon's warning that there was another element to this purposed deal, but from how he had made it sound, it didn't seem like it was anything too drastic or important. And even if it was, then certainly liberating Lapis from her longtime prison would make whatever that unknown addendum was worth it.

Right?

" _So, Pine Tree? Do we have a deal?"_ Bill asked almost goadingly, calm in the assurance that he had his young, unwitting pawn right where he wanted him.

Keeping his manner steady and resolved, Dipper only nodded, taking in a deep breath before he carefully met the demon's hand and shook it, solidifying their bargain once and for all. "Alright, fine," Dipper said sternly as he looked to Bill rather coldly. "No more mystery hunting. Now fulfill your end of the deal and save Lapis."

" _Oh, don't worry, Pine Tree, I already got that one covered!"_ Bill exclaimed with a mischievous chuckle as the flame encompassing both their hands suddenly grew brighter. _"But in the meantime, there's still the matter of the_ other _half of your end of things…"_

"M-my… wha-" Dipper barely had any time to get anything out before his voice caught in a startled gasp, his eyes growing wide and his body still and rigid as he felt a sharp pain course through it. In fact, so great was this pain that it ended up completely incapacitating him, to the point that he couldn't even cry out for help or for a release from it. In a way, it almost felt like all of his cells were violently tearing apart, or better yet, that they were burning, glowing even, but in the worst way possible. Amidst this torrent of unstoppable agony, he hadn't even registered the dream demon's incredibly amused and sadistic laughter ringing in his deafening ears, nor did he notice the pale white light ripping away at every part of him, effectively disintegrating him until there was nothing left at all. His consciousness was the last thing to fade away, but before it did, the last thing he heard was the triumphant teasing of the demon who had so easily tricked him with a promise that had ended up resulting in what must have been his own complete and utter destruction.

" _See ya, Pine Tree! Hope you enjoy your new digs! Oh, and be sure to send Stripes my best! I'm sure she's just gonna_ love _to see you!"_

* * *

The very first thing Lapis felt before awakening was a stark, sudden beating inside her own chest. In fact, the sensation was so strange and alarming that it only seemed to quicken, to the point that it ultimately ended up tearing her right back into consciousness. She let out a gasp, her eyes opening wide as she felt the air fill in another part of her chest, the beating continuing rapidly as she found herself in need of even more air, which she took in heavily as she tried to make sense of what was happening to her.

Despite her effective hyperventilating, Lapis was able to focus enough to notice that whatever surface she was lying on wasn't anything remotely similar to the darkened, drenched, despair of Malachite's mindscape that she had grown so accustomed to over the past several weeks. Instead, the surface below her was hard yet warm, crisp, red light pouring in from an unseen source and illuminating a wooden ceiling above her. Disconcerted, Lapis slowly began to pick herself up to get a better look around, though she stopped short upon catching a glance of her arm. Her pale, fleshy, not blue arm.

"Augh!" Lapis cried, grasping her wrist as she glanced over the rest of her form. The usual blue coloration of her dress was apparently no more, replaced by a mix of navy, orange, and grey, and upon pulling a lock forward, she found that her hair had somehow turned a shade of chestnut brown. "W-what… what is this?" she muttered to herself, her brow furrowing as her breathing and the beating in her chest gradually slowed to a normal, natural tempo.

She didn't have too much of a chance to wonder what had happened or where she was, however, before she noticed something lying on the ground right beside her: a blue and white hat with a tell-tale print of a pine tree on it. An article Lapis immediately recognized, to the point that even picking it up and holding it close made her ache with both regret and with a curious sense of hope as she took another look around.

"D-Dipper?" she ventured, her voice small at first, especially as she failed to find the boy anywhere in the immediate vicinity. "Dipper, a-are you here?" she asked again, feebly rising to stand only to find herself strangely unsteady. All the same, she clung onto the hat, a spark of terror and dread filling her as she realized this place, whatever it was, was surprisingly bereft of Jasper. Regardless to the bizarre alteration of her form, certainly she had to still be part of Malachite, which meant that her orange adversary couldn't be too far, right?

Lapis shook her head, steadying herself as her expression filled with resolve. If she was indeed still Malachite, and if Dipper, of all people, had managed to find his way into their incredibly toxic mindscape, then she knew her mission, above all else, had to be to protect him from Jasper's wrath and bring him back to safety. Which meant that her starting step in doing so had to be finding him first.

And so Lapis picked herself up off the ground, her footing initially unsteady as she had to get used to being solely in control of her own form once more. Even so, she wasted no time in checking just about every single nook and cranny the room had to offer for any further sign of Dipper's presence there, only to find none at all. As a result, an even deeper sense of worry filled her, one that was more than enough to prompt her to set out beyond the boundaries of the room to check elsewhere in the hopes of _finally_ reuniting with him if nothing else. However, as she tentatively opened the door, she ended up reuniting with someone else entirely.

"S-Steven?!" Lapis gasped, her eyes wide as she caught sight of the young Gem standing right outside the door.

Startled, Steven gaped back up at her, his hand held up ready to knock on the now-opened door as he tried to make sense of exactly who was standing before him. "Uh… do I know you?"

"Of course you do!" Lapis exclaimed as though it was obvious, despite her new appearance. "It's me: Lapis!"

"L-Lapis?!" Steven's jaw practically hit the floor as everything connected for him, but sure enough, it did make sense. Save for her oddly familiar but markedly different coloration, the woman before him looked exactly like the blue Gem who had trapped herself at the bottom of the lake several weeks ago. "Wha—I don't understand; how did you even get here?! When did you and Jasper unfuse? And… and why do you look so different?"

"Wait, wait, hold on, what?" Lapis shook her head, her eyes wide with surprise. "I… I'm not fused with Jasper anymore? But… but I thought…"

"Well… I'm pretty sure you're not since you're here," Steven pointed out. "But what I wanna know is why you look like that. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were a human!"

"A human?" Lapis scoffed, crossing her arms. "Don't be silly, Steven. I may not know how I got separated from Jasper or why I look like this, but if there's one thing I _do_ know, its that I'm still a Gem. See?"

At this, she turned around to show the young Gem the stone on her back, only for Steven to let out a stunned gasp at what he actually saw there. "L-Lapis…" he muttered, clearly shocked. "Your Gem… it… it's gone!"

" _What_?!" Lapis frantically reached both of her hands to her back, feeling around desperately for her familiar teardrop-shaped gemstone, only to feel nothing but smooth, warm skin where it should have been. "H-how… what happened to it?! Where did it go, I-" She stopped short with a gasp, her eyes widening even more in a dawning, almost sickening form of realization. "N-no way…" she whispered, absolutely shaken by this revelation as she pressed her hand against her chest, only to feel what could only be a heart hammering away underneath it. "I-it can't be… I… S-Steven… I think I really _am_ a human…"

"B-but… how did you just _turn into_ a human like this?!" Steven asked, just as frantic as Lapis was over this alarming news.

"I don't know!" she exclaimed, running a hand through her now brown hair. "One minute, I was keeping Malachite chained to the bottom of the lake, and then the next I woke up here and found-" Lapis interupted herself once more, remembering that she had much more important things to worry about aside from her shift in species as she glanced down at the hat still tightly trapped in her grip. "Dipper…" she whispered before hastily placing a firm hand on the young Gem's shoulder. "Steven, where's Dipper?"

"Wait, you mean he's not in there?" Steven frowned, glancing past Lapis and into the otherwise empty attic. "That's weird… Mabel sent me up here to find him, so… maybe he's in another part of the shack? He's been working really hard lately to try and find a way to save you, so I'm sure he'll be _really_ happy to see you!"

"H-he's been trying to…" Lapis trailed off, letting out a sad sigh as she held the hat close to her chest. "Oh, Dipper…"

"H-hey, I'm sure once we find him, he'll be able to help us figure out exactly what happened to you," Steven reassured upon noticing Lapis' obvious melancholy.

"R-right…" Lapis nodded in absent agreement, following after the young Gem as he led her through the rest of the shack. The two searched diligently for Dipper, with Steven claiming that it only made sense that he'd be somewhere in the building since that was the last place he had been seen heading to. And yet, despite their best efforts, neither of them managed to find him inside the shack whatsoever, leaving Lapis in a rather distraught state as she was filled with both dread over her new form as well as over Dipper's whereabouts, which by all accounts, seemed to be completely unknown.

With their search of the shack completely exhausted, Steven and Lapis agreed to check outside for Dipper, just in case he had ended up slipping out of the house without anyone noticing somehow. And yet, instead of finding him, they managed to run smack dab into his twin instead as she was heading into the house carry a high-piled basket of sock puppet supplies, which was easily knocked out of her hands the moment her and Lapis accidentally collided.

"Hey!" Mabel huffed, disgruntled as sock and craft supplies spilled all over the floor. "Steven! What's the big… idea…?" She trailed off, her jaw dropping as she watched the familiar figure beside the young Gem start to pick herself up off the ground to stand once more. At first, Mabel thought she was seeing things, because certainly there was no logical way _she_ could be _here_ like _this_ ; but sure enough, it seemed to be true, as completely unbelievable as it seemed.

"No way…" she muttered in amazement as she stared at the former Gem, her mouth gaped in awe. " _Lapis_?!"

"H-hey, Mabel," Lapis greeted, offering the girl as much of a smile as she could, though it was clear her primary concern was still with finding Dipper. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It sure as heck has!" Mabel exclaimed, still completely awestruck. "How are you even _here_? And how are you all humany? And most importantly, does Dipper know? Cause if when he sees you he's gonna _freak out_. I'm not even kidding, he's been driving himself crazy looking for a way to save you and-"

"I-I know," Lapis interjected, glancing down somewhat remorsefully upon hearing this. "Steven already filled me in. But we _are_ looking for Dipper, if you've seen him anywhere."

"Not since we-" Mabel quickly cut herself off, a worried look crossing her expressions as she looked down to the scattered sock puppets on the ground below and remembered the rather harsh words her and her brother had just exchanged only just a few moments prior. Words that, in light of Lapis' sudden, unexpected, but still miraculous reappearance, seemed incredibly petty now, especially on her end of things. "Uh… never mind," she said quickly, pushing several of the sock puppets away with her foot as she dropped her basket. "W-why don't I help you guys look for him? Three heads are always better than two after all."

"Are you sure, Mabel?" Steven asked with a frown. "I mean, your puppet show's coming up really soon and you still have a lot to do to get ready for-"

"Eh, the show can wait for a sec," Mabel interupted with a somewhat forced wave of her hand. "After all, I… I…" she trailed off, not particularly wanting to bring her bitter argument with Dipper up in front of Lapis, especially since said argument had largely centered around the former Gem in the first place. "I really wanna see the look on Dipper's face when he sees you again, Lapis!" she intercepted, being both truthful and dodgy all at the same time. "Now come on, let's go find him!"

"Right," Lapis nodded firmly, crouching down a bit, almost as if she was anticipating something. Steven and Mabel looked to her in confusion when nothing did end up happening, something that confused the former Gem even more, until she stole a glance behind her and let out a startled gasp. "M-my wings!" she cried, distraught as she stood properly. "W-why can't I summon my wings!?"

"Uh… probably because you don't have a Gem anymore," Steven informed gently. "Humans can't fly, Lapis. Well, at least not using water, that is."

Lapis shook her head in disbelief at this, grief filling her expression over the loss of something she had always treasured so much. Her wings provided her with freedom, with a chance to escape to safety in an instant if the need arose. But now, they were gone and she was tethered to the ground, anchored almost just as much as she had been with Jasper at the bottom of the lake. The only difference now was that she was at the very least, no longer trapped within a prison of her own design with a cellmate she would have just as rather shattered than let survive. All the same, her lack of wings only added onto the several disconcerting discoveries she had made since awakening in her new human body. A worrisome change that she hoped could at the very least be eased upon finding the one she had given almost everything up for until now.

Since searching by air was out of the question, the trio split up, investigating the immediate woods around the shack on foot. Though Lapis was unfamiliar with the area, Steven and Mabel made an effort to venture out a bit further, their own respective concern for Dipper starting to rise upon catching not a single sign of him anywhere. From there, they decided to check in up at the temple, Lapis keeping her distance outside as the kids asked if any of the Gems had seen Dipper around, only for all three of them to offer sympathetic no's. It was only after they decided to join in on the search themselves that they discovered Lapis and her now human condition, something that aptly shocked all three of them, though the former Gem had no interest in garnishing any help from them, except for when it came to looking for Dipper. As minutes turned into hours, Mabel decided to make a tough call and postpone her puppet show, knowing that, for the first time all week Gabe Bensen could wait; her brother was, by all accounts, apparently missing. And after putting him on hold all week for her own selfish pursuits, she wasn't about to rest until she made things right, found him, and apologized for the lack of support she should have been providing him with all along.

As the sun began to sink across the forest, the Gems insisted that the kids finally check in with Stan, all of them hoping that he at the very least had some sort of clue as to where Dipper had run off to. The conman however, was simply quite surprised to hear that his nephew was missing alone, making it quite obvious that he was just as clueless as everyone else. After calling up Soos and Wendy, a rather sizable search party had been formed, one that forged on late into the night and stretched as far as the town boarders itself. And yet, despite their collective, valiant efforts, Dipper never seemed to show up anywhere, much to everyone's immensely growing concern. It truth, it seemed as though he had disappeared completely out of nowhere, leaving only his hat behind, which Lapis hadn't let go of since the moment she found it in the shack's attic. Speaking of the former Gem, what struck most of the others as odd was that her sudden appearance seemed to perfectly coincide with Dipper's abrupt disappearance. There was no question the two events were connected, but as to how and why, no one had the slightest clue. Even Garnet, with her future vision and all, was unable to foresee them locating the missing boy anytime soon. Still, that didn't mean they were going to give up hope so easily; Lapis and Mabel in particular were both insistent on continuing the search until Dipper was found and brought home, safe and sound.

And yet in the midst of foraging through the darkened forest in the very late hours of the night, Lapis soon discovered another aspect of humanity that she had previously never experienced before: exhaustion. With each passing moment, it seemed as though her pace grew slower, her eyes grew heavier and her focus drifted away altogether, to the point that at one point she almost tripped over Steven, who was every bit as tired as she was. Upon realizing this and detecting the same sort of fatigue from Stan, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy, the Gems concluded that they would continue looking for Dipper while all of the humans headed home to bed so that they could be better rested up to help in the search tomorrow. Of course, there were protests all around concerning this as all of them did indeed want to find Dipper as soon as possible, but once Garnet put her foot down on the matter, there was no arguing with her about it.

And so everyone save for the Gems headed home for the night, their hearts equally heavy with worry and dread. After a healthy round of convincing and bribing Stan on Mabel's part, Lapis was allotted to stay at the shack, with Steven sleeping over as well since the Gems would be out for the rest of the night. Together, the pair fashioned a makeshift air mattress bed for the former Gem to sleep on, though all the same she still really wasn't quite familiar with the process of "sleeping" to begin with. Being a human was, at least from her perspective, a rather odd experience as a whole. Only just a few hours ago did she "eat" for the first time, with her first meal consisting of something Steven called "the bits" that he got from Gravity Fries downtown while they were searching around there. To Lapis' surprise, she actually enjoyed the snack quite a bit, though she was somewhat anxious when Steven and Mabel informed her that eating was something she'd have to do regularly now that she was a human.

In fact, the reality that she was no longer a Gem but rather a human on its own was enough to keep her lying awake in bed even after Steven and Mabel had already fallen asleep. In the full moonlight streaming into the attic room, Lapis stared at her hand—her now flesh-covered, pale, _human_ hand—as she let her thoughts wander. How did something like this even happen? How had she been torn away from Jasper and put _here,_ of all places? How long was she going to stay like this? Was it ever possible for her to return to her original form? And most importantly, the question that had been largely plaguing her all day, even about her own concerns about herself: where could Dipper have gone to? The former Gem couldn't deny that her now human heart ached whenever she thought of the mysteriously missing boy, the boy who, even during her own self imposed imprisonment in the lake, she had missed so very much each and every day. Lapis couldn't deny that she wanted to see him, probably even more than she wanted to be a Gem once again. As far as she was concerned, thoughts of anything else other than finding him and bringing him home could wait. To know that he was safe and sound and where he belonged would be more than enough to set her worried mind at ease. Which was why, as she slowly drifted off into her first fitful, fretful slumber, the last thing on the former Gem's mind was the warm reassurance Steven had offered both her and Mabel just a few hours prior. A reassurance she hoped more than anything would come true:

"Don't worry! I'm sure we'll end up finding Dipper tomorrow!"

Except they didn't. They didn't find him then, or the next day, or even anytime in the days or weeks after that.

And when they finally did find him, he was in the last place any of them had ever thought to look.

* * *

 _Earlier…_

A flash of blinding light sparked from the depths of Lake Gravity Falls, completely filling its empty surface, though no one was around to see it. Likewise, no one was around to see the tiny, squarish blue stone drop into its murky waters from seemingly out of nowhere, sinking lower and lower, down towards the bottom of the deep lake on its own accord. For a moment or two, fish occasionally flocked to it, investigating the odd, dully shimmering gem until, out of nowhere, light began to explode from it, scaring the sealife away as a small humanoid shape began to form around it. The light took on a bright blue pigment as it began to define its previously amorphous form, with clothes and features taking shape as the gemstone found its place upon its forehead. And, with another flash of solidifying light, the radiant glow disappeared, once again sending the lake depths in obscuring darkness and leaving a small, singular figure floating in its place.

Upon regaining some sense of cognizance and feeling, the very first thing Dipper did was abruptly open his eyes, taking in a sharp gasp the moment he did, only to inhale a large mouthful of water instead of air. As panicked and disoriented as he already was, his first instinct was to panic at the thought of drowning, flailing about as he floated just above the lakebed, neither rising towards the top nor sinking to the bottom all the while. It was only as he unintentionally ended up taking in more water that he noticed something both relieving and alarming; he _wasn't_ drowning. In fact, it seemed as though he was somehow able to breathe within the water just as easily as he could breathe air.

"W-what the…?" Dipper trailed off, whispering to himself as he began to curiously touch his throat only to stop short upon stealing a glance at his hand. For a brief moment, he thought it was simply a trick of the incredibly low light surrounding him on all sides, but upon a second glance, he realized that his hand was indeed somehow strangely _blue_ as opposed to its normal pale pigmentation. He was quick to discover that everything else about him was some varying shade of deep blue too: from his skin, to his clothes, to his shoes, to even his hair as it covered what he found to be the most disconcerting of all: his birthmark. While it was usually mostly unnoticeable considering he kept it concealed so well, Dipper couldn't hold back a soft gasp of surprise as he realized he could actually _feel_ the copy of the constellation on his forehead, smooth and solid and almost… stone-like to the touch.

For a moment, Dipper took pause, his hand floating away from his birthmark as he tried to make sense of exactly where he was and what was going on. Surrounding him all around seemed to be a vast aquatic void, with only the occasional deepwater fish, plant, or sunken canoe to be spotted anywhere nearby. With nothing visual to go off of, the most Dipper could do was think back to how he might have ended up in a place like this when, as far as he knew, he had just been in the shack's attic just a few minutes prior. The last thing he remembered was his own exhaustion amidst his endless attempts at trying to decode the laptop's password, but that was it. He couldn't recall falling sleep, which meant that there really wasn't any chance of this being some sort of dream. Even so, he couldn't help but feel as though he was missing an important piece here, a piece that, if he ended up actually remembering it somehow, could quite possibly explain both his unknown location and his bewildering condition at the same exact time.

However, instead of finding that missing piece, he soon found something, or rather _someone_ else entirely. Or rather, they found _him_.

" _YOU!"_ The outraged shout boomed across the lakebed, scaring off any fish that was even remotely in the vicinity. Dipper, on the other hand, froze up completely, his eyes going wide as the massive shadow of a Gem he had hoped to never encounter again fell upon him. Yet before he could fearfully spin around to face the vicious warrior, she did the job for him, unexpectedly grabbing him by the arm and wrenching him around roughly. Dipper had only a moment to register the thought that such a maneuver could have easy broken his arm entirely as he glanced up and shuddered with unconcealed alarm at the fact that he was now somehow face to face with none other than Jasper herself. "I know you," the orange Gem growled, scowling fiercely at him all the while. "You're her _favorite_ little human pet, the one she wouldn't stop thinking about while she kept _me_ chained down _here_! So why are _you_ here? And where is _she_?!"

"W-who?" Dipper dared to venture, his voice much smaller and more frightened than he had hoped it to be. "Lapis?"

"Who else?!" Jasper snapped hotly, her already inescapable grip on his wrist tightening. "Up until a few minutes ago the two of us were fused, just like we've been for _weeks_ now. And then all of the sudden _you_ show up and she disappears! What's going on here?!"

"I-I don't know!" Dipper answered truthfully, confused just as much as he was terrified. In fact he was so disoriented that he barely even registered an essential part of what Jasper had just said, namely that her and Lapis _had_ been fused. Which meant that, even though it was really beyond all sense of logic, they _weren't_ fused anymore. "I was just-"

"Quiet!" the orange Gem barked harshly, giving the unfortunate boy in her grip a violent shake. "I don't know where she thinks she gets off, just running off after everything she did and leaving _you_ behind to-" Jasper cut herself off, her confusion with the unfolding situation seeming to grow as she noticed something that only seemed to anger and disgust her even more. "What is _that?"_

"W-what?" Dipper tried to glance up at whatever it was Jasper was pointing at, only to find that she was oddly referring to him. Or rather, to his forehead.

For a moment, Jasper didn't answer, opting to finally relinquish her tight hold on Dipper's arm only to suddenly grasp his chin instead, still effectively holding him in place as she swept a bit of his hair up to find something that made her gasp in clear shock as she finally let go of him altogether. "You're not a human!" she exclaimed, obviously baffled as she continued sending him the same bitter glare as before. "You're a _Gem_!"

"Wha—no, I'm not!" Dipper countered, though he still lifted a curious hand up to his now tangible birthmark, wondering if Jasper might have somehow confused that for a gemstone somehow. But then again, his now oddly blue coloration, his strange, newfound ability to breathe underwater… both of these things seemed to speak to the contrary. Which in and of itself was an alarming possibility he didn't even have time to think about as Jasper continued, apparently growing even more incensed by the second.

"I get it now…" the orange Gem growled coldly. "The little game you and her have been playing… the reason why she wanted to protect you so badly that she decided to trap me… _You're_ a Lapis Lazuli, just like _her_!"

"N-no!" Dipper tried to protest, knowing that such a claim was completely preposterous. "I'm-"

"Let me guess…" Jasper continued, her feet firmly planted on the lakebed as she marched closer towards him. While Dipper had the wits about him to wisely float backwards out of her immediate range, he was still largely too engulfed by fear to make a real escape attempt. "You two came out of the same Kindergarten, didn't you? I know you Lazulis like to travel in flocks. So when she got stuck on this backwards planet, you were the only one of her kind still left around to take care of that mirror she was trapped in. Then, when she flew back here to warn you that we were coming, you tried to hide yourself by shapeshifting into that weak, pathetic form you're in now, just like Rose did! But it didn't work, because I've got it all figured out now..."

"No, y-you _really_ don't, trust me," Dipper tried to clarify, though of course, in her ongoing anger and thirst for vengeance, she was hardly listening to him.

"And… since _she_ took so much from me… and now that I know _just_ how much you really mean to her…" A sly, almost sinister smile crossed the orange Gem's face as she stood essentially towering over him menacingly. "I think its only fair that _I_ return the favor and take something from _her_ …"

Dipper didn't even have a chance to ask what she could have meant by this before she suddenly latched onto his arm yet again, wrenching him upward before, surprisingly, spinning him around with almost a flare of what could have been mistaken for grace. She relinquished her hold on him for just the slightest second and in that second, he did all he could to try to swim away, only for her to pull him back down by his ankle before he could really make any progress at all. Once she had him back down, she began swiftly spinning them both around in something that almost seemed like a dance. And it was as Dipper realized this, that he realized with a burst of apt panic exactly what Jasper was trying to do.

"W-wait!" he cried as Jasper's smug smirk only deepened at his obvious fear. "Don't-"

"Go ahead and beg all you want, _Lazuli_ ," the orange Gem hissed with a hateful sneer as she suddenly dipped him low, just as she had done with Lapis on the lake shore weeks ago. "I begged too, for _weeks_ on end, in a futile attempt to escape her," Jasper's grin only deepened as the gemstone that was in the place of her nose began to take on a bright white glow. "But it never worked; if she had her way, she was going to keep me trapped down here _forever._ All because of _you_! _"_ Dipper gasped in growing alarm as the same sort of glow began to pour from his birthmark, or, as he now realized with a sense of sickening shock, his _gem_. "Well now its _your_ turn to see what that's like. I hope you enjoy it, because just like she said, I'm never letting you _go_!"

With this final, fierce proclamation, she roughly pulled him towards her, a blinding light enveloping them both. While Dipper's past experience with fusion was extremely limited, he knew that both times he had formed Stepper with Steven had felt absolutely _nothing_ like this. With Steven, the act of fusion had felt warm, calming, even welcoming, even if the initial aftermath had been largely tremulous and uneasy. But with Jasper, fusion was anything but those things. It was like she was throwing him into a tight cage and throwing away the key. It was like she was anchoring him, weighing him down to the bottom of an ocean that, even with the ability to breathe underwater, he would surely drown in. It was like—no, it wasn't like, it _was_ her trapping him, locking him into something he wanted no parts of and desperately wanted to escape.

Which was why, even as the eventual fusion gained its form, it was screaming, half of it crying out for release while the other half simply laughed vindictively. As a result, their sharp-toothed maw split cleanly down the middle as their form solidified, resulting in two mouths, two sets of eyes, and six sets of arms, two of which acted as legs. Most everything about this fusion was monstrous, yet familiar, their coloration a mix of mangled, sickly greens and their build bulky, awkward, and uneven. Their white hair was a wild, untamed mess, their skin markings garish and garbled, and their newly-shared mind a complete and utter disaster as they both were forcibly plunged into its darkened depths.

As for the fusion themselves, they hardly faired much better as they were still caught in a chaotic flux of sadistic satisfaction and horrified anguish over the realization of the awful monster they had become. "Augh! L-let me go!" they screamed through one of their two mouths, their voices mangled together and uneven yet nightmarishly unified all the same. "Not a chance! Not until you see just how much she made me suffer because of _you_!"

At this unhinged declaration, the fusion, out of sheer desperation alone, reached up to the far off surface of the water far above them, hoping they could somehow breach it and alert someone, _anyone_ to their horrific plight. Unfortunately, before they could even get anywhere close, a sudden chain, composed entirely of water, rushed up from the lakebed, latching onto both of their wrists and keeping them anchored heavily down to the ground itself.

"N-no! Stop! Please!" they begged, not even bothering to hide how outright _terrified_ they were by this seemingly possible, absolutely miserable turn of events. "I-I already told you! I'm not a Gem! Hmph! You really are stupid if you think you can fool me again!" they sneered, yanking the chains back to force them down even more. "If you're 'not a Gem' then how did we just fuse? I-I don't know! I don't even know what's going on! P-please, I just want to—Ha! You really think I _care_ about what _you_ want?! The only thing I care about is making both you and _her_ pay for what you both did to me! B-but I didn't—QUIET!"

The fusion gasped as an entirely new set of watery manacles suddenly latched around both sets of their feet, pulling them down until they were basically tethered to the lakebed itself with no hope of escape whatsoever. "I'm _done_ listening to what you have to say!" they barked harshly, so caught up in their lust for revenge that they didn't even place any second thoughts or concerns with the other, absolutely panicking half of their ruinously shared mind as they essentially drowned him in the darkness of their fusion's hatred altogether. "She might have tried to protect you, but she _failed_. You both failed! Because from here on out, you're not a Lapis Lazuli or a human in disguise or _anything_ else anymore." At this, one of the fusion's mouths leered into a sickening smirk while the other one quivered in pained whimpers, heartbroken tears starting to well up in two out of their four eyes as they began to sink, quite literally, into their unimaginable fate. "The only thing we are now is _Malachite_. So get used to it; because as long as I'm around to keep us together, that's something that's _never_ going to change."

* * *

The first few days and nights were, simply put, completely unbearable. True to her word, Jasper kept Dipper, and by extension, the newly-recreated Malachite tightly chained to both bottom of the lakebed as well as to the murky, inescapable depths of their now forcibly shared mind. And from the very moment his unexpected, nightmarish imprisonment began, Dipper wanted nothing more than some form of release from it. A release that seemed like it would never end up coming.

In fact, if there was any one word Dipper knew he could use to sum up his still relatively newfound existence as Malachite, then that word would be drowning. Largely because a majority of his time seemed to be spent doing exactly that in just about every sense of the word. He seemed to always in a state of constant drowning; drowning literally in the toxic waters of Malachite's dark and desolate mindscape, drowning in the mire of hatred of the Gem who had cruelly trapped him in the name of her own vengeance, and drowning most of all in his own crippling, crushing fear that he'd never be able to escape, a fear that only steadily grew the longer it went on for.

In fact, the only times Dipper didn't feel like he was drowning were the rare occasions when Jasper, for whatever reason, decided to dredge him up to the surface level of their forcibly shared mindscape. The orange Gem only ever did this for the sake of antagonizing her unfortunate hostage, by giving him a glimpse of the sparse rays of light that shined through the surface of the lake far above them, light that offered the elusive promise of hope and freedom. Promises that, Jasper would all to quickly remind him, he would never achieve again as she always ended up dragging him back down to their cripplingly cold subconscious, never even allotting him a single moment or inkling of any sort of control over their twistedly fused form whatsoever. In fact, he was lucky if she ever even let him have a word in edgewise against him, always callously brushing off all of his fierce, sometimes downright desperate attempts to fight back or resist against her. And yet, for as much as Jasper's vengeful cruelty was starting to wear him down more and more, the worst part for Dipper by far, was that he essentially had _no_ idea how he had even ended up in this seemingly unending waking nightmare to begin with.

In the agonizingly long stints of lonely drowning he had to endure, the question of why he was there at all was really the one Dipper was really able to grapple with. As chained as his hands were, he wasn't really able to reach up to his forehead, but as far as he knew, there was a gemstone there, a gemstone that, by all accounts, apparently made _him_ a Gem. The fact that he had been able to fuse with Jasper at all was proof enough of that, as disconcerting and alarming as the very thought. And yet _how_ exactly he had somehow changed from human to Gem and wound up in the lake in Lapis' place was a complete and utter mystery to him, one that, he believed if he could figure out the answer to, then perhaps he could begin to puzzle out how free himself from his current, miserable plight. The only problem was, he had no idea where to even start.

That is, until the day the normally lonely, dark corner of Malachite's mindscape he now called home received the very last visitor he could have ever expected.

And what a surprise it certainly was for Dipper when, amidst floating miserably and silently in the dreary, empty darkness, a sudden sadistic, familiar cackle echoed through the water, sending heavy ripples throughout both it and the newly-turned Gem trapped within it. Ripples that turned into outright shock as a certain triangular demon suddenly materialized quite out of nowhere before him.

" _Well, well, well, look at you, Pine Tree!"_ Bill exclaimed in bright greeting, startling Dipper quite a bit by his abrupt appearance. _"Turns out you don't make that shabby of a space rock after all, if I do say so myself. You're still_ pretty _shabby overall though; guess some things never change, even if your species does!"_

It took Dipper a brief moment to break out of his relative alarm, but when he did, he was still rather baffled by his new, rather unwelcome 'guest' all the same. "B-Bill?! What… what are you doing here?"

" _Aw, come on, kid, isn't it obvious?"_ Bill asked, only for Dipper to shake his head in continued confusion. _"Seriously? You don't remember?"_ the demon pressed, almost surprised by this fact before letting out an exasperated groan. _"Hmph. Guess I should've figured that suddenly having your entire human DNA rewritten into nothing a bunch of solid light molecules would scramble your brain up a little bit. Well, it would if you still technically HAD a brain anymore! But if you're still in the dark (which you definitely seem to be right now) then let me refresh your memory for ya, Pine Tree!"_

Surprisingly, true to his word, Bill did just that with a simple snap of his fingers, one that sparked a brief, bright glow in Dipper's gemstone and instantly filled him in with flashes of everything he needed to know. He saw himself, human and free from the fused oppression he now knew; he saw Bill, cheerfully rattling on about some kind of 'deal' that would help free Lapis from her own dire straits; and finally, he saw himself accepting that deal, desperate to finally rescue the blue Gem who had done so much to rescue him, he saw himself shaking the demon's flaming hand, he saw himself disintegrating into nothing but pure, formless light, he saw Bill somehow compress that light into a deep blue stone, one in the very same shape as his own birthmark. And finally, he saw the demon carelessly drop that stone into Lake Gravity Falls, into the very spot where it would be easy, almost inevitable for Jasper to find him and force him to fuse with her.

And just like that, he finally had it all figured out.

"Y-you!" Dipper gasped, pulling back away from Bill as much as he could with his arms and legs still changed as they were. "You did this! You're the reason why I-I'm… I'm a Gem, and why I'm here, and trapped with _her_ and-"

" _Yeah, yeah, kid, no need to waste any of our time reiterating what we both already know,"_ Bill remarked, clearly not taking the new Gem's apt anger seriously.

"Why?" Dipper interjected before the demon could get any of his callous remarks out, largely since he was seething with so much raw _fury_ over how Bill had effectively turned his entire life upside down altogether. "Why would you even do something like this?!"

" _Because its_ hilarious _, Pine Tree!"_ Bill laughed unapologetically. _"Or wait, guess I can't really call you that anymore, seeing as how you're the new Water Wings and all! See what I mean?"_ With another snap of the demon's fingers, Dipper's gem glistened briefly once again, though this time, a wide pair of rather elegant aquatic wings, almost identical to Lapis', unfurled from its spot on his forehead, catching him off guard quite a bit, though the somewhat embarrassing sight only elicited even more twisted amusement from the sadistic demon. _"Ha! And just when I thought this couldn't get any more priceless! I don't know why you look so cross, 'Water Wings'! After all, I'm sure you'll catch some great_ headwinds _with those beauties, huh?!"_

Dipper only offered the demon a hateful glare before glancing fretfully up at his new wings, ones that he tried to force back into his gem, though despite all of his mental straining, he had no such luck, much to his ever growing frustration with his situation as a whole. "T-this wasn't our deal, Bill!" he shouted furiously, a part of him realizing he probably looked quite ridiculous with his watery wings coming out of his forehead, though he hardly cared.

" _Oh, see, that's where you're wrong, kid,"_ Bill said. _"See, I seem to remember you promising to stay outta my way in exchange for freeing your friend. But that means that_ somebody _had to take her place, and since you wanted to save her sooooo badly, I figured you'd be the perfect fit!"_

"But you never mentioned _anything_ about turning me into a Gem or about Jasper forcing me to fuse with her!" Dipper countered hotly. "In fact, you hardly mentioned anything at all! I didn't know _anything_ about what I was getting myself into because you _lied_ about it all! This isn't fair which is why I'm calling our deal off. Change me back and get me out of here, Bill, _now_!"

" _Aw, sure, I'd be more than happy to do that for ya, 'Water Wings',"_ Bill remarked, though his tone darkened somewhat as he pressed a bit closer to the new Gem. _"Giving you back your boring old human meatskin would be a piece of cake! Of course… you do know that means that everything will go back to the way it was before. Which means… Water Wings—or I guess I should call her_ Pine Tree _now—has to come back here to Stripes too, right?"_

"W-what…?" Dipper took pause at this, his eyes widening at the alarming implication. "What… what do you mean? Where _is_ Lapis anyway? What did you to do her?!"

" _Well, I put her in your place, duh!"_ the demon quipped, pointing down to his flat form as it depicted an image of Lapis herself, surprisingly completely human, sitting sandwiched in between Steven and Mabel. While there were hints of worry in all three of their expressions, they still smiled to one another, their happiness only growing as the former Gem hugged both of the kids close to her, clearly relieved to be free and with them instead of trapped and alone. The very sight of finally seeing a genuine smile on Lapis' face after so long stirred something warm up inside of Dipper, and even despite his own horrific circumstances and the fact that he couldn't be happy there with her, he still couldn't deny just how _glad_ he was to finally see her released from the nightmarish prison he now found himself trapped within.

"Y-you… you turned her into a… a human…" he mused, his voice almost a whisper as he continued staring at the depiction of Lapis with a ghost of a smile on his face.

" _Ya got that right, kid,"_ Bill remarked evenly. _"I gotta say, the shift from Gem to human was probably a bit of a downgrade for her, but hey, at least she's finally outta this unending hellhole of pain and misery, huh? Then again, I guess she won't be for too much longer since you're_ so _deadest on getting outta here yourself and forcing her back in, right, Water Wings?"_

Dipper practically froze as Bill once again extended his hand out to him, blue fire licking at it as he offered him the promise of freedom, safety, and normality yet again. A promise that, by all accounts, as much as he wanted it, he knew he couldn't take. Not when Lapis had already suffered languishing imprisonment for so long. Not when she had sacrificed almost everything she had just to protect _him_. Not when she was finally free and happy and living a life she never really got to enjoy before. True, Dipper did miss his own freedom; he missed Mabel and Steven and Stan and the Gems and being a human and even Lapis herself. But as much as he wanted all of that back, as much as he wanted his very _life_ back, he knew that taking it back while taking it all away from Lapis would be nothing more than selfish, especially in light of how much she had given up for him before. And though the thought of being locked away in agonizing solitude with no one but the carelessly cruel Jasper to keep him company was nigh unbearable to him, Dipper knew that he had no choice but to endure it. After all, if Lapis was willing to go that far for him, then it was only fair that he return the favor and do the same for her.

"N-no…" he finally sighed, looking away sadly as he thought of all he was giving up. His family, his friends, his future… all of them would now only be a distant dream he'd never be able to have anymore. And even despite his righteous resolve, that alone was more than enough to bring a tear to his eye. "I… I can't… As long as she's safe and happy out there, then… then I'll stay down here, like this…"

" _Forever?"_ Bill pressed with almost twisted curiosity, clearly reveling in getting his way in the matter.

"F-forever…" Dipper muttered in defeat as that tear finally fell, knowing that, just like that, he had sealed his now hopeless fate, once and for all.

" _Well, if you say so, kid!"_ the demon quickly pulled his hand back, taking Dipper's seemingly only chance for freedom along with it. _"But just so ya know, from here on out, there are no more take-backsies! Which means you're pretty much stuck in here with Stripes for the long run!"_

"Yeah, I… I know…" Dipper acknowledged quietly, looked down at the chains that would now keep him bound and trapped for the rest of his existence, however long that might be.

" _Then I guess that's that!"_ Bill concluded brightly. _"Ya know, it really is a shame, Water Wings, that Pine Tree will never get to know just how much you're giving up for her here. But oh well, with that new short human lifespan of hers, its not like she'll have_ way _too much longer to feel guilty about it. Unlike you, kid; you get to spend the next several millennia hanging out down here with Stripes. Who knows? Maybe by the time she decides to let you out, some of the people you love and care about will still be around… Nah, I'm just kidding, they'll all be long_ dead _and gone by then! Ha! This can't_ get _any better, can it!? But, I guess if you don't have any further need for my 'services', then I'll just be taking off here. See ya, Water Wings! Oh, and have fun spending the next few thousand years as a lonely little prisoner inside of a grotesque, hulking monster of a Gem fusion! Like always, I'll be watching you!"_

And, without sparing another word to the hapless new Gem he had so cruelly deceived, Bill disappeared, leaving Dipper alone in the dark depths of Malachite's mindset once again, a prison that only seemed even more suffocating as he realized he had just condemned himself to being confined to it forever. And as that realization sunk in more and more, his aquatic wings finally dissipated in his growing despair, his eyes welling up with more and more tears that he was powerless to contain as they came out in heartbroken sobs.

Though Bill had told him he'd exist practically forever, Dipper felt as though his life might has well have ended right then and there. Because now, as a result of his own haste and foolishness alone, he'd never again get to experience anything but the empty darkness currently surrounding him, he'd never know anything but Jasper's senseless burning hatred and cruel punishments and torture. He'd never again get to feel the warmth of the sun or breathe in the fresh morning air or even _exist_ as his own being, his own person outside of the monstrous fusion he now was. He'd never get to hang out with Steven or Connie or Stan or even any of the Gems again, never tell any of them just how much they all meant to him. He'd never get to see Mabel again, to make amends for their final argument or take back the heated words he regretted _so_ much now more than ever. And perhaps worst of all, he'd never get to thank Lapis for her sacrifice, for taking on the immeasurable burden he had now accepted in her stead. He'd never get to keep up his end of the promise he had made to her, that they would be safe and happy and _together_ once again. He'd never get to do any of that, and he only had himself to blame for selling it all away in a moment of pain and desperation, two things that would now only accompany him forevermore.

Because now, he was just as Jasper herself had said; nothing more than a prisoner, a piece of the monstrous Malachite and all that they entailed.

And, from then on out, that's all he ever _would_ be, for the rest of time itself.

Or at least, that's what he thought.

* * *

It took almost a month for any of them to finally discover where Dipper had been for so long. And when they did, it was in the least expected, and most alarming way possible.

Because when, after another long night of combing the surrounding area near Gravity Falls for any hopes of finding him, Dipper began to suddenly and inexplicably appear in Steven's dreams, Lapis, Mabel, and the Gems all pressed him to keep going, to look further for the longtime missing boy who had seemingly vanished without a trace. And it was only as Steven found himself dropped into a vast, shadowy teal ocean, one that's bitter cold water seemed to carry a feeling of mournful agony and hopeless suffering to it, that he finally, _finally_ found Dipper. Though the state in which he found him was anything but relieving.

He floated amidst the seemingly fathomless ocean only a few feet away, his head hung and his eyes closed in an expression of complete and utter beaten exhaustion. Though what concerned Steven the most upon a first glance wasn't just the fact that his entire coloration was now inexplicable shades of dark, deep blue; rather it was the thick, watery chains locked tightly around his wrists, ankles, and even his neck, all keeping him secured tightly in place, for whatever reason. Something that wasn't going to continue for too much longer if Steven had anything to do about it.

"D-Dipper!" the young Gem cried, launching himself forward amidst the water he could somehow breathe in. This call was surprisingly enough to rouse Dipper from whatever stupor he was in as he weakly glanced up at Steven, letting out a gasp of shock to see _anyone_ other than Jasper for the first time in what felt like years.

"S-Steven?" he asked, immediately perking up with both surprise and with oncoming fear as he glanced up anxiously. After all, in light of his self-imposed isolation here, he could have never expected _Steven_ of all people to show up, though seeing such a friendly face hardly relieved him now. "W-what are you doing here? No, wait, how did you even get _in_ here in the first place?! D-don't tell me she-"

"W-wait, hold on, where _is_ here, Dipper?" Steven asked, not hesitating to get the most important details first. "Is this where you've been for the past month? If it is, then you _have_ to tell me where we are so we can finally come find you!"

"…I-it… its been a _month_?" Dipper asked, eyes wide with disbelief upon hearing this disconcerting news, one that almost brought tears to his eyes as he realized just how _long_ he had been a prisoner for. "I-I've really been trapped here all that time?"

"Trapped _where_?!" the young Gem insisted almost desperately, placing his hands on Dipper's shoulders in an attempt to shake him out of his rattled revere. "Dipper, _please_ , you-"

"S-Steven!" he suddenly interupted, fear filling his expression even more as he looked back up to his friend. "I don't know how you got here, but you _have_ to leave, _now_ , before _she_ realizes you're here! Please, you can't be-"

"Before _who_ realizes I'm here?" Steven asked, confused. "Dipper, you're not making any sense. I-I just want to help you, which means you have to tell me what's going on. A-are you hurt? Who's trapping you here? Why do you seem so scared?"

Dipper hesitated, flinching away out of genuine anxiety as he stole yet another glance upward, as if he was expecting something to emerge from above. Yet all the same, he forced his very apparent dread aside to finally try and offer some concrete information as he met Steven's fretful gaze once again. "S-Steven, I've been-"

Before he even had a chance to finish, however, Dipper was suddenly lurched upward by the chains binding him, and despite a brief bout of resistance against this force, he was ultimately powerless to keep himself from being pulled up sharply by whatever was above him. "D-Dipper!" Steven cried, acting on instinct as he lunged forward to grab onto his friend's ankle and keep him weighed down, though that hardly did anything except pull him upwards as well.

"S-Steven, what are you doing?!" Dipper exclaimed in immense panic as the young Gem continued to hold on. "You need to let go! If she sees you, then she'll-"

"N-no! I'm not letting go!" Steven insisted, tears starting to well up in his eyes that were reserved solely for the friend he had been morosely missing for so long now. "I have to save you!"

"Ugh, you don't understand!" Dipper shot back, somewhat frustrated with his persistence. "You _can't_ save me! I'm not-"

Once again, he was cut off as they both finally surfaced above the water, essentially landing on top of each other as they collapsed together upon its somewhat solid, dark surface. As breathless and worn as both of them were, however, neither of them had much of a chance to recover as they were joined by a new figure altogether.

"Alright, what's with all the noise down there?" Jasper growled to her unfortunate captive as she marched over to him, her expression set in an unsavory scowl as she practically towered over both Dipper and Steven. "I thought I told you to…" The orange Gem suddenly trailed off, her eyes widening with shock as she noticed the young Gem in particular as he slowly began to pick himself up off the ground. "It can't be… Rose?!"

"J-Jasper!" Steven sucked in a sharp, frightened gasp as he quickly stood, unquestionably afraid of the fierce Gem warrior who had nearly killed him in their first encounter. However, before Jasper could take another step closer to him, her approach was suddenly halted as none other than her own young hostage who had rushed to stand in between her and Steven.

"Leave him alone!" Dipper shouted defiantly, refusing to let Steven endure anything remotely close to the same kind of abuse and torment he had been going through for the past month. Unfortunately though, despite his selfless resolve to protect the young Gem, Jasper was, as always, much stronger and much more in control than he could ever hope to be. A fact that she easily proved as, with just a simple nod of her head, another burst of water shot up from the ground, one that formed something of an aquatic gag meant to silence Dipper as it latched onto him and covered his mouth. At the same time his other chains all tightened oppressively, keeping him essentially locked in place and helpless to do anything but watch in horror as Jasper sulked ever closer to the aptly frightened Steven.

"You stay out of this, Lazuli!" the orange Gem shouted back at him quite threateningly as the young Gem backed away from her apprehensively, especially as she turned to him with a triumphant grin. "And as for you, Rose… I don't know how you got in here, but am I ever glad you're here to see this. You thought you could take my Diamond away from me all those years ago? Well, look! I've taken one of your 'Crystal Gems' away from you!" Her twisted smile deepened as she motioned to Dipper, who was still trying his best to pull against his restraining chains, though of course, it was to no avail at all.

"Y-your… what?" Steven asked, completely confused amidst his ongoing fear. "I-I don't understand! What are you doing to him?!"

"I'll tell you what I'm doing," Jasper sneered haughtily. "I'm getting even with both you and with _her_ ," she nodded back to Dipper once more, who was only able to shake his head in worried warning to Steven, trying to beg him to get away while he still could. Something that, unfortunately, the young Gem didn't understand as the orange Gem continued. "When Lapis disappeared and this one showed up in her place, I figured it was only fair that I make her suffer every ounce of suffering she put me through because of _her_! So I figured the best way to do that was to give her a taste of _Malachite_ first hand…"

Steven couldn't help but gasp in disbelief, his eyes wide with worry as he looked back to Dipper once more, who only looked away from him in shame out of the deal he had made, one that he wasn't even able to properly explain for himself thanks to Jasper. "Y-you… you _fused_ with him?" the young Gem asked with dawning horror. "But… but how? He's not even a Gem! You can't-"

"Ha! You really think I'm gonna fall for that tired old trick again?" Jasper scoffed, stepping over to Dipper and wrenching his chains even tighter as he pulled him towards her. "If she's not a Gem, then what's _this_?" Once again, the orange Gem roughly brushed her captive's hair aside to reveal the stone fixated to his forehead, a sight that left Steven completely floored from the very moment he saw it.

"D-Dipper…" Steven said, his voice soft and sad as he looked to the new Gem, finally piecing everything about his ongoing mysterious absence together; and the picture he got once he had, was anything but comforting. "Y-you and Lapis… you guys… you've been-"

"Enough talking," Jasper huffed impatiently as she roughly shoved Dipper aside to focus her attention back on Steven. "You know, Rose, I wanted to finish you off in front of what's left of your pathetic army. But since you're already here, I might as well make the most of a _perfect_ opportunity. At least you'll have _one_ member of a captive audience around to see you in your shattering moments…"

It was clear that Jasper was taking quite a bit of sadistic pleasure in the obvious fear as was causing Steven, especially as she towered over him, her heavy helmet summoned and ready to land a brutal blow upon the defenseless young Gem before her. And yet… before she could throw her helmet down, something completely unexpected happened instead.

In an instant almost too quick to notice, a sudden burst of water lashed out at the orange Gem, latching itself around her neck in a thick, bulky chained manacle. Jasper lurched back, startled as more chains began to wrap around her wrists and even her legs until they managed to pull her down to the watery ground altogether. "W-what?!" she gasped, shocked as both her and Steven glanced back to none other than Dipper. His own chains and even the gag were completely gone, replaced by orbs of water that seemed to control Jasper's chains entirely as they surrounded his tightly clenched hands. But what was by far the most surprising was his expression: fierce, outraged, and absolutely hostile as he struggled to pull the orange Gem back away from Steven and towards himself instead.

"I-I said… leave him _alone_!" he shouted as he threw his hands down, brutally shoving Jasper back down into the depths that were usually his prison. It was easily the first time he had ever had any semblance of actual control of Malachite's mindscape, which was why he was left in slight shock as the orange Gem disappeared, leaving him and Steven alone and relatively safe, if only for a moment.

"D-Dipper…" Steven began rather breathlessly as he slowly began to approach the new Gem. "T-that… that was… are… are you _really_ a Gem now?"

The most Dipper could do as the young Gem posed such a question was let out a small sigh, averting his concerned gaze once again as he instead looked to the water now surrounding his hands. "Steven, I-I-" Suddenly, he was cut off as his hands were pulled sharply downward, clearly by Jasper trying to work her way back up to the surface once more. Which of course, meant that there wasn't much time before Dipper knew he'd be pulled back down in her place, with not a single soul to relay what could very well be the last message he might ever be able to get out. And so, he wasted not a single moment in telling the young Gem everything he could in what little time he had left. "S-Steven, listen to me!" he said, his tone serious and intent even as Jasper continued trying to pull him back under and herself back up. "I made a _huge_ mistake b-but there's no way to undo that now. Right now, I need you to get out of here a-and tell both Mabel and Lapis that I'm _so_ sorry for all of this! I didn't know things would turn out this way, but like I said, I can't change that anymore, so… so I'm just going to have to stay here… l-like this…"

"What? No!" Steven cried, horrified by the very thought of Dipper keeping himself trapped in such an awful state. "Dipper, you don't have to stay here! We can—no, we _will_ help you! T-the Gems, I'm sure they can figure out a way to split you and Jasper up and then we can-"

" _No_ , Steven!" Dipper insisted somewhat harshly. "I _can't_ leave. Because if I do, t-then Lapis has to come back here and be trapped with her all over again a-and I can'tdo that to her, Steven, I _can't_! She's already been trapped enough!"

"But what about you, Dipper?!" the young Gem pressed almost desperately. "You don't deserve to be trapped like this either! Lapis wouldn't want this; I _know_ she doesn't! She wants you to safe and at home and with her! T-that's why you _have_ to let us help you. We just want you back already; everyone misses you, Lapis misses you, _I_ miss you! S-so just tell me where you—or I guess where Malachite's at and we can come and-"

"Just _stop_ already, Steven!" Dipper shouted fiercely, clearly struggling to focus on keeping Jasper anchored down at this point. "Like I said, you don't get it! I made this mess, which means _I_ have to deal with it, alone! I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me!"

"But-"

"Just let me do this for you, Lapis!" Dipper suddenly snapped, yanking Jasper's chains tightly in anger before he realized how he had misspoke. His eyes were wide and pained and filling up with oncoming tears as he looked to Steven once more, reaching the agonizing realization that this was perhaps the last time he'd ever get to see him. A fact that barely seemed to barely matter and matter more than anything at all, all at the same exact time. "I-I mean… I didn't…"

"Dipper…" Steven said sadly, reaching a shaking hand out to his suffering friend. A hand that he made no attempts to take as he pulled away in both grief and shame.

Dipper still wasn't exactly sure how his new water wings worked, but even so, he somehow managed to summon them from his gem, awkwardly maneuvering them around himself to block himself off from Steven more than anything else, despite the young Gem's persistent attempts to reach out to him. "I'm sorry, Steven, but… I'm not Dipper anymore…" he said coldly, his tears lost amidst the water he was trapping himself within as he felt Jasper inch ever closer to the surface, ready to overtake him at seemingly any moment. Even so, he did let out a sigh of both sadness and relief as he saw Steven begin to inexplicably vanish from their mindscape altogether just as Jasper brutally emerged back into it. Surprisingly enough, however, she didn't immediately shove him back down as she realized exactly what his intent was. An intent that she only smiled cruelly over as she stood behind him, a hand gripped tightly on his shoulder as they proclaimed her vicious triumph, his broken defeat, and their twisted fusion, all at the same exact time in perfect, empty unison:

"We're _Malachite_ now…"

 _To be continued…_

* * *

 **Hahaha well I warned ya that this one was gonna be sad so I don't wanna see any complaining about it (jk). Either way I'll write the second part of this one... someday though its not gonna be the next thing I'm gonna post here. To be honest I actually posted this now as part of UF's 3 year celebration on tumblr (its AU week this week, I'll also be posting something here for shipping week that's also bound to be quite... sad) so if you wanna participate in that, its not too late to go over to my tumblr (MiniJenn) and check it out! And with that outta the way, don't forget to REVIEW! Until next time!**


	7. Poly MK: In More Ways Than One

_Oy so its been about a while since I've updated this but hey, why not do it now? Before any of you start with ANY of your bullshit in the reviews over this one, just let me say that I was PAID to write this as a commission. The fact that I had a wonderful time working on it is just a great bonus. As for what this is, its set in the Poly Mystery Kids AU, which is pretty easy to explain. Its just like canon, only the Mystery Kids (Steven, Dipper, Connie, and Mabel) are in a polyamorous casual relationship (with NO pinecest before any of you start, that shit is disgusting), but yeah if poly relationships make you uncomfortable, then this probably isn't for you, just saying. The rest of this is pretty self explanatory, really cute fluffy nonsense (sort of change from the angst I usually post here), so enjoy! ^_^_

* * *

 _In More Ways Than One_

"Alright, everyone. I've gathered you all here this afternoon for a very important matter," Ford paused, taking stock of the aptly concerned expressions his brother and the Gems were sending his way. "I have reason to believe that something… might be wrong with the children."

A beat of silence followed at this, the gathered group exchanging brief, bewildered glances before Pearl finally cut in with a loud sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness, I'm not the _only_ one to think the same thing! The four of them have been acting strange for _weeks_ now! Please tell me you three have noticed it too, haven't you?"

"Eh, normally I'd think you and Sixer are being paranoid, as usual," Stan remarked, crossing his arms. "But those kids have been more out there than usual lately. Heck, just the other day I saw Mabel knitting a sweater-"

"That's hardly out of the ordinary, Stanley," Ford noted. "Mabel knits sweaters almost _constantly_."

"Yeah, but when does she ever knit a sweater like this before?" Stan held up said sweater, clearly larger than the articles Mabel usually knitted for herself, though what was by far the most peculiar thing about it was the large heart stitched onto its center, a bold 'S + M" carefully embroidered right over it. "If this doesn't prove who Mabel's latest crush of the week is, then I don't know what does."

"Oohhhhh man…" Amethyst looked genuinely anxious as she stared at the sweater. "That's… gonna be pretty awkward for Mabel, especially when she finds out about Steven and Connie…"

"Why?" Pearl asked, confused. "What's going on between them?"

"Uh, isn't it obvious, P? They're totally nuts for each other! I didn't wanna say anything, mostly cause I don't really like getting into Steven's personal biz like that, but yesterday I saw Connie give him a _kiss_ on the cheek! The _cheek_ , you guys! That's like, something I thought was gonna happen _forever_ ago, but hey, at least its happening, even if they are pretty late to the party…"

"Oh, Amethyst, don't be absurd!" Pearl huffed, doubtful. "As… admittedly adorable of a couple as Steven and Connie would make, a-and Steven and Mabel for that matter, I'm afraid its just plain to see that he's not interested in either of them that way,"

"Oh yeah?" Amethyst challenged. "Then who _is_ Steven crushing on?"

"Dipper, of course," Pearl concluded, firm in her answer.

" _What_?!" Amethyst, Stan, and Ford exclaimed in surprised unison.

"Oh come now, don't tell me none of you have noticed the _obvious_ attraction between those boys," Pearl frowned. "The sheer devotion and dedication Steven and Dipper consistently show for each other should be proof enough alone that their feelings towards each other are more than merely platonic. But there's even more to it than that; last week, I happened to walk in on them forming Stepper _sheerly_ for the sake of their own enjoyment. They tried to play it off as more than that, but I could tell by the look in Stepper's eyes that he was _loving_ every second the two of them were together."

"Well, if your… theory is correct, Pearl," Ford said, clearly uncomfortable with so much discussion of a topic like romance. "Then what of Mabel and Connie?"

"Well… who's to say they don't feel the same way towards each other?" Pearl shrugged. "They _have_ been spending much more time than usual as of late anyway. And there's no denying they have, what humans typically call 'biology' with each other."

"You mean 'chemistry'?" Stan corrected, dryly.

"What? No. That doesn't make any sense, people can't share chemistry, most chemicals are typically dangerous to humans anyway, right?"

" _Anyway_ ," Ford interjected. "Speaking of chemistry—or 'biology' or whatever you'd prefer to call it, if any of the kids shares that sort of compatible dynamic, then clearly its Dipper and _Connie_. As respectably intellectually minded as they both are, they'd easily make a perfect pair."

"So what, you're saying they belong together cause they're both huge _nerds_?" Stan asked, sending his brother a critical look.

"N-no!" Ford quickly backpedaled, flustered. "I have proof; a few days ago, I saw the two of them… w-well, they were—ugh, I suppose the only way to say it as that they were 'holding hands' as they walked down to the house from the temple. Just the two of them. _Alone_."

"Pfft, so? That doesn't _prove_ anything!" Amethyst scoffed.

"I-I'd say it proves quite a bit!" the author exclaimed defensively. "Its further than I ever got with a girl, after all."

"Yeah, 'cause you've got _no_ charm, Ford," Stan remarked, sending his brother a playfully teasing jab. "Then again, Dipper doesn't really make much charm either, which it'd be an easy bet that both you and Pearl are wrong about Connie or Steven bein' into him."

"Well, if that's the case, then your idea of Steven and Mabel being an item is every bit as preposterous," Pearl remarked. "They're close, yes, but Steven and Dipper are _much_ closer."

"Uh, no, Steven and _Connie_ are, duh," Amethyst cut in.

"But that doesn't work because Connie's already with Mabel!" Pearl countered, hands on her hips.

"Who, might I remind you, is actually with _Steven_ ," Stan pointed out, exasperated.

"Which is fine because Connie and Dipper are both speaking for each other anyway," Ford noted, resolute.

"You mean they're _spoken_ for, poindexter," Stan corrected once more. "Geez, you nerds don't know _anything_ about this whole romance thing."

"Well, then why don't we ask someone who _does_?" Pearl retorted, turning to the sole member of the group who had yet to weigh in on the matter. "Garnet, what do think about all this?"

So far, Garnet's expression had remained largely neutral as ever as she sat apace from the others, apparently not interested in engaging in on the conversation whatsoever. But as she finally turned to Pearl to give her thoughts, she was unable to keep her reaction to their ongoing speculation in any longer. A reaction that was, at least as far as the others were concerned, the very _last_ thing any of them could have expected.

She laughed.

In fact, she laughed so hard that she was practically hysterical, a fact that genuinely unnerved the others as they were so used to the Gem leader's steady sense of calm. Which was why, as baffled as they all were, they quickly pressed for an explanation behind it.

"Hey! What's so funny, shades?" Stan asked, somewhat cross.

Garnet didn't answer right away, instead slamming her first down on the table as she laughed even harder. When she finally did regain her composure enough to respond, she was still chuckling to herself all the while. "You're all _wrong_."

"What do you mean, we're wrong?" Ford scoffed, aptly confused.

"Yeah, what are you saying, G, that _none_ of the kids are into each other?" Amethyst asked, not following.

"Because I find that _incredibly_ hard to believe, all things considered," Pearl added, shaking her head.

"No," Garnet said, still laughing. "Its exactly the opposite, really."

"…Ok, now I _really_ don't get it," Amethyst said, exchanging a lost glance with Pearl, Stan, and Ford. "G, what are you talking about here?"

"It's actually really simple," Garnet smiled brightly, clearly elated over something, even if none of the others knew what that something was. "Which is why I should let _them_ explain it for themselves."

The Gem leader nodded over to the shack's front door as it opened at that exact moment, all four of the kids entering in. None of them apparently knew of the company gathered in the den as they conversed casually, a conversation that, when paired with their clear body language, provided more than enough of an explanation as to exactly what was going on.

"You know, we really _should_ think of how we're gonna break this to everyone…" Dipper noted with something of a worried frown.

"What, you mean the whole thing about the four of us all dating each other?" Steven asked rather bluntly and blatantly. "Because I think we should—oh…."

The young Gem immediately stopped short as all four of the kids noticed they had a captive audience in the den listening in. As if plainly stating it wasn't enough, their relatively new interconnected relationships were all but proven by just how closely they all lingered to each other. Mabel was holding hands with Steven's, his free arm resting on Connie's shoulder while his fingers were interlaced with Dipper's, who also had an arm wrapped around Connie as she did the same for him. Their expressions were awash in the same sort of mutual surprise that the adults in the room all shared, save for Mabel, who simply shrugged in blithe acceptance over being discovered like this.

"Welp, I guess this is _one_ way to tell 'em, huh?" she said, grinning over to her brother and her partners.

"Wait, wait, wait, _wait_ ," Pearl cut in before any of the others could, getting up from her seat to approach the kids. "You four are actually…?"

"Um… yeah, we sort of are…" Connie admitted, shifting nervously a bit. Even so, both Steven and Dipper quietly steadied her, their respective grips on her tightening protectively ever so slightly.

"And this has been going on for…?" Ford trailed off, aptly curious.

"A few weeks, at least," Steven replied, unable to hold back a fond smile as he glanced over at Mabel, Connie, and Dipper. "Though I guess we always kinda felt this way deep down…"

"Ok, am I the only one who has about a billion questions about… all of this?" Stan said, generally gesturing to all four of the kids.

"Yeah, we… kinda figured you guys would," Dipper remarked with a plaintiff shrug. "Which is sorta why we decided to not tell any of you about it until we figured out the best way to."

"But now it looks like we don't have a choice!" Mabel quipped, clearly more excited that they had been found out than the others. "So… fire away! Who's up first with question number one!?"

"Uh, I guess I am?" Amethyst raised her hand. "What I wanna know is just how the hey all this happened? What made you guys decide you wanted to, ya know, make it _official_?"

"Actually, its kind of a crazy story," Connie said with a somewhat forced laugh. "We all kind of realized our, uh, feelings for each other at different times and in different ways…"

* * *

Connie sighed contently, basking in the warm sun reflecting off the lake as Steven finished off the last few notes of a peaceful ukulele tune beside her. Rare was the moment shared between just the two of them, but she was grateful for this moment all the same. Especially one as blissfully sweet and calm as this.

Even so, she did sit up a bit when the young Gem's simple song came to an end. "That's a new one," she noted with a smile. "Did you write it yourself?"

"Heh, yeah…" Steven glanced away, somewhat bashful. "It's just… something special I've been working on for awhile now for, uh… for someone."

"Oh?" Connie asked, intrigued. "For who?"

"Oh, uh, y-you know," the young Gem shrugged. He hardly ever got this flustered but it was clear that was the case now, much to Connie's growing confusion.

"Um, no, I don't know," she chuckled. "You haven't told me that part yet, Steven."

"Oh, right…" Steven laughed as well, albeit a bit forced. "Uh, a-actually, Connie, I… I wrote that song for… I-I mean, I wrote it _as_ … k-kind of… a love song, I… I guess."

"A love song?" Connie raised an eyebrow at this, not sure of what to make of it. Though for some reason, unknown worry and excitement rushed through her all at the same time. "W-well, who's the lucky, uh, girl?"

Steven hesitated, deeply blushing as he glanced away from her with an anxious, yet elated smile. Connie jolted in surprise as she felt his hand lightly skim over hers. Time seemed to stop as he leaned in closer to her until, both very suddenly and incredibly slowly, their lips met at the exact same time. The kiss only lasted for the briefest of moments before they both parted out of nerves alone. Even so, neither of them could back out of it without wearing the largest of smiles over the line they had finally, _finally_ crossed.

"T-think you can take a guess?" Steven asked quietly, leaning his head against Connie's slightly.

"Yeah…" Connie's smile deepened as she stole another kiss from him, this time on the cheek, though it was no less sweet and satisfying then their first. "I think I can."

* * *

It wasn't a rare occurrence for Dipper and Connie to practice their sword fighting together outside of their weekly lessons with Pearl. The two would often head out to an open, yet private clearing in the woods, to go head to head against each other in friendly spars to sharpen their skills. Though lately, their training sessions had shifted focus somewhat. They would spend about an hour or so clashing their blades, though they'd pass even more of their time together simply sitting within the peace of the forest engaged in deep, but pleasant conversation. Today however, they had agreed to focus their efforts on their training, their swords clanging in a constant rhythm as they did their best to outmaneuver each other.

"Remember what Pearl keeps telling you, Dipper!" Connie called with a playful smirk as she came in for another broad swing. "You gotta keep yourself covered!"

"Oh, I'll keep myself covered," Dipper taunted back just as wryly. "As long as you keep your footing steady."

Connie noted his attempt to knock her down by sidestepping out of the path of his sword before going in for another attack. "Uh, speaking of steady…." She began a bit leadingly as their swords clanged. They kept on each other, pressing against their respective swords as their faces drew in close amidst the tension. "I was wondering…"

Dipper easily caught her drift, his cheeks suddenly lighting red in as his pressure wavered somewhat. "O-oh yeah? Wondering what?"

Connie took the opportunity as she saw it, elbowing him hard enough to send him plummeting hard to the grassy ground. Dipper flinched as her sword slammed into the ground right next to his head as she leaned down over him, smirking with both confidence and apprehension at the same exact time. "I-I was just wondering if you'd like to, uh… go there. W-with… with me?"

For a moment, the most Dipper could do was stare up at her in shock as she continued to hover over him. But then, acting on a burst of boldness that was far more than the kind he usually carried, he leaned upwards, giving her a small, short, but soft kiss on the cheek. "Of course," he said with a joyous laugh he was powerless to contain. "Of course, I would _love_ to."

"And I'd love it if you did _that_ again," Connie grinned just as warmly.

"Well, since you won this round, how can I say no?" he complied, meeting her halfway as they came together in another kiss, equally matched in both their skill with a blade and their affection for one another.

* * *

"Ok, Steven, are you ready for… the _lightning round_?!" Mabel asked with daring grin.

"Lightning round?" the young Gem asked, intrigued. The two of them had spent the past several hours engaged in a rousing game that they had come up with all on their own. It didn't have any official name, but the basic rules involved going back and forth on cards of personality-based questions they had come up with earlier. They were randomly selected, which of course, added another layer of fun and excitement to an already unpredictable game as it was.

"Yeah! No thinking about your answers, you just gotta blurt 'em out as soon as you hear the question," Mabel explained. "Are you game, Universe?"

"You bet I am!" Steven grinned enthusiastically as he drew the first question card. "Ok, you're up first. If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be?"

"Easy, Belgium, I heard their chocolate is the best, _ever_!" Mabel took another card to pose a question to the young Gem. "Who would win in a fight, Lonely Blade or Tiger First?"

"Tiger Fist! He's got punches to spare! Next question, who do you have a crush on?"

"You!" Mabel gasped, realizing that she truly had answered the very question she had written without a single thought whatsoever. Which, of course, was why she immediately attempted to backpedal out of embarrassment alone. "I-I… I mean-"

"Wait… really?" Steven asked, putting his card down as he looked to her with wide eyes. "Mabel, y-you… have a crush on me?"

Though her hands were still tightly pressed against her mouth, Mabel nodded, feeling as though her heart was crashing and burning at an alarming rate. For so, _so_ long now she had done everything she could to keep her feelings a secret from the young Gem. But now that she had voiced them aloud, however accidental, there was no taking them back.

"S-since… when?" Steven asked, still trying to wrap his head around the idea.

"Since the first time we formed Maven," Mabel admitted with a long, relenting sigh.

"That long? W-well… why haven't you told me until now?"

"B-because!" Mabel huffed, throwing an arm over her eyes as she flopped back onto the couch. "I didn't want it to ruin everything! I mean, you're probably the first guy I've ever really _really_ liked! All of those other boys were just dumb flings that I tried to distract myself with but you've always been different! Y-you're… your _special_. But now that you know…"

"Now that I know," Steven caught Mabel by surprise taking her hand and offering her a bright, reassuring smile. "I think its time _you_ knew that… I-I think I feel the same way."

Mabel froze, as if her entire world had been turned upside down at this news. In all the best of ways. "W-what?"

"Yeah, of course, I do!" Steven said, still beaming. "We have so much in common, and you're always so much fun to hang out with. Not to mention you're already one of my best friends, so who says we can't we be _more_ than that if we want to?"

"Y-yeah," Mabel happily agreed, still in a state of delighted disbelief as she found herself falling into Steven's open arms. "Who says we can't?"

* * *

Due to Connie's somewhat sheltered upbringing, she hadn't had the chance to see too many "classic" movies, which was why Mabel had decided to make it her responsibility to introduce her to all of her favorites. They had dubbed the new tradition "Movie Mondays", and on a rainy, dour Monday like this, staying in with warm blankets and a sweeping romantic comedy, it was a perfect way to pass the time. But what neither of the girls had been expecting was for this particular film to strike such an emotional cord with both of them.

Connie found herself tearing up as the couple on screen confronted each other in the rain, the dramatic orchestral score saying far more than mere words ever could. However, as the pair raced towards each other in a deep, loving embrace, she found herself glancing over at Mabel instead. She was, simply put, weeping, her sobs soft and deeply impacted as she burrowed her face into the collar of her sweater. For a moment, Connie watched her, dumbfounded, until, acting on impulse alone, she found her own hand slowly gripping Mabel's beside her.

And from there, the girls' attention turned away from the movie… and towards each other instead.

As soon as their eyes met, that was where they stayed: solely on each other and nothing else. Maybe it was the gentle pattering of rain on the shack's roof, maybe it was the movie's romantic music soaring to a triumphant peak, or maybe it was something else entirely. But, as if pulled by magic or magnetism or something else entirely, they came together in a kiss, soft, slow, and so, so sweet.

And when they finally parted, they were equally matched in satisfaction and confusion.

"M-Mabel…" Connie whispered, skimming her own lips with her fingertips. "Y-you… I didn't know you were… o-or even that _I_ was-"

"M-me either…" Mabel blushed deeply. "W-what a way to find out, huh?"

"Y-yeah, but… I don't know if I really understand. No offense, but you've had _so_ many crushes before, s-so… why am I the one who… y-you know."

"Gosh, there's so _many_ reasons, where do I even start?!" Mabel smiled brightly, warming Connie's heart even more than it already was. "You're so smart and brave and pretty and like, a million other great things! Yeah, I've had a lot of crushes before, but _none_ of them have been anywhere near as amazing as you are, Connie!"

"N-no one's… ever… I-I've never…" Connie stopped herself, far too overwhelmed by joy and affection to really say anything else. So instead, she decided to let her actions do the talking. She took both of Mabel's hands this time, offering her the happiest smile she could muster before pulling her in close. Mabel reciprocated by tossing a nearby blanket over them both, shrouding them in warmth and comfort as they drew to kiss once more.

They all but missed the end of the movie, but neither of them minded. After all, they had just found a much _better_ pastime to enjoy together instead.

* * *

"I'm so glad we decided to do this more often," Stepper smiled as he settled into his fused form, reclining out on the grassy ground to watch the lofty clouds above him. "So am I, being together like this feels… so nice. Yeah… it really does…"

The fusion sighed quietly, closing his eyes to enjoy the warm peace of the afternoon. However, that peace was soon broken as both his birthmark and gemstone flashed with a single, simple thought that both of his halves happened to share with each other at the exact same time.

" _I wish we could always be together…"_

Stepper darted upright with a gasp, his face warm and his heart and mind both racing. And yet, somehow, despite his shock, he remained, Steven and Dipper still united by their mutual apparent affection for one another. "I-I… you really feel the same way? You really feel the same way!" As torn between dumbfounded and elated as the fusion was, he couldn't hold back a small, tight laugh as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I-I mean…. I've I think I've been feeling it every time we fuse…" he said to himself, his lower arms holding him in a lose hug of sorts. "So have I. Its… warm, and bright, and… _amazing_."

Stepper lay back in the grass once more, his upper arms returning the very same hug his lower arms were providing him. "If we really want to stay together, then why don't we? Even when we're apart? Wait… do you mean…? Yeah, I do…. I-is that ok? No, its even _better_ than ok," He paused, practically brimming over with far too many wonderful emotions to even count, all of which sustained him, steadied him, solidified the strong bond that composed his very being.

"For the longest time I-I didn't want to tell you about this because I had no idea what it even really was…." Stepper closed his eyes, savoring this moment for all it was worth and wishing that it would never have to end. "But now I know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, _exactly_ what this feeling is. So do i…"

His gem and birthmark shimmered once more as the fusion spoke, both halves of his whole confirming exactly what they were to each other, and all that entailed. "It's love."

* * *

"And from there, we just figured we all might as well just be together," Connie finished off the lengthy round of romantic anecdotes. "That's not… weird to you guys, is it?"

"B-because this really is how we feel about each other!" Dipper interjected almost defensively. "Yeah, its… sort of unconventional, but… it just… _works_ for us."

"And we're loving ever second of it!" Mabel grinned, raising her and Steven's held hands up high.

"And… we're hoping you guys will respect that," Steven said as he looked to the adults hopefully. "So…? What do you think?"

At first, none of them said a single word, all of them looking to the kids with rather unreadable expressions. Though at last, Pearl spoke, breaking the heavy silence. "Well… you're not wrong about it being 'unconventional'…"

"But who cares?" Amethyst asked, reclining back in her seat. "If it makes you dorks happy, then hey, why not go for it?"

"Yeah, exactly," Stan agreed with a bit of a grin. "You runts are always together anyway, might as well be _together_ together, you know?"

"Yes, I suppose there's no harm in it," Ford smiled with a supportive nod. "After all, the bonds between the four of you are quite admirable. Though, um… Dipper, Mabel, isn't it a bit… _odd_ for you two to be sharing the same significant others like this?"

"Eh, we're getting used to it," Dipper shrugged.

"It's not like there's plenty of both Steven and Connie to go around!" Mabel quipped, sending a fond smile towards the pair, which they readily returned.

"Well, as long as you kids know what you're doing," Pearl concluded. "We wouldn't any want you to get hurt if… if things go wrong."

"I don't think that's something they'll have to worry about," Garnet said, offering the kids a profoundly proud smile. "After all, when love is as strong as the kind they have for each other, it always finds a way to survive. I know that from experience."

The Gem leader lowered her shades, winking her third eye at the kids, filling them with all of the mutual hope they could have needed that their newfound interconnected relationships with each other were destined to last. Now that everything was out in the open, a bit more casual conversation over said relationships continued, though the support towards them on all sides was quite clear. With their worries of rejection and disapproval cleared away, the kids were able to slip away from the impromptu meeting feeling a shared sense of happiness and relief, one that wasn't bound to fade away too quickly.

"Well, that went way better than I ever thought it would," Dipper noted as the four of them lay down together on the attic floor later on.

"Yeah, it did…." Steven smiled. "See, I told you guys that it would all be ok when we told them!"

"Heh, you did have a point," Connie smirked as she stole a small kiss on the cheek from him.

"So…" Mabel chimed in with daring grin. "When do you think we should tell them that we're all dating Pacifica too?"

"Uh… maybe let's save that bombshell for _after_ the dust from this one settles," Dipper said, somewhat apprehensive.

"Still, for now, everyone _finally_ knowing about us is… really nice," Steven sighed contentedly, feeling Dipper and Connie's respective grips on his hands tighten as Mabel sent him a flirtatious wink. It was as though the sheer amount of love and devotion shared between all four of them (technically five of them) couldn't be contained. And for Steven, Mabel, Dipper, and Connie alike, that was just fine. "In more ways than one…"

* * *

 **So yeah! Really cute stuff! I've love to know what you thought of it in the REVIEWS! I don't know when my next oneshot in here will be or what it'll be so I suppose I'll just have to keep ya'll on your toes... until next time! :)**


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